Ten years on
by Bell26
Summary: A look at what Helen and Nikki have been getting up to over the past ten years and where life has taken them.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Helen Stewart stood in front of the sink in her quaint kitchen looking out into the little garden she and Nikki had put so much effort into. They had spent countless hours out there digging, raking and planting. The previous owners had obviously not had a green thumb amongst them as the garden had looked more like a jungle than something you would expect to find behind an up market London duplex. "What an amazing difference a little love, loads of hard work and a few hundred quid could make," she thought as a smile crept onto her face. They had had so much fun transforming that jungle into their little corner of paradise…

The sound of the kettle boiling brought her sharply back to the present; she turned away from the window and standing on her tip toes, reached for two mugs from the top shelf of the cupboard. "Where is Nikki when you need her," she thought as she rubbed away the twinge of pain in her lower back. The kitchen cupboards were obviously fitted by giants without any consideration for those of shorter stature, even Nikki at 5"10 had to stretch to her full height to reach the top shelf.

As Helen spooned coffee and sugar into the two mugs she heard the sound of Nikki's footsteps coming down the stairs. "Now that's what I call good timing", she thought as she filled the mugs with water from the kettle. Picking up a mug in each hand she turned just as Nikki came to a halt a few steps through the kitchen doorway. The black pinstripe skirt suit fitted Nikki's tall frame perfectly and the bright blue shirt added just a hint of colour.

"So what do you think?" She said, holding her arms out to the sides and giving a little twirl. Helen, still standing with a steaming coffee mug in each hand, raised her left eyebrow as a smile spread across her face and replied, "That skirt better be for my benefit, you know how sexy I think those long legs of yours are."

A smile quickly replaced the tense look on Nikki's face as she stepped forward, taking both mugs from Helen's hands and putting them down on the kitchen table. "How is it that you always know exactly what to say to make me feel better?" she said as she pulled Helen towards her. "I'm just that good," Helen said as she rested her head on Nikki's shoulder. Helen's favourite place in the whole world was exactly where she was at that moment, curled into Nikki's arms. She caught a faint whiff of Nikki's perfume as she nuzzled her neck; it was the scent she had given her this past Christmas. "That perfume better be for me too," she said fining severity as she snuggled even closer to Nikki. "Of course my love," Nikki said as she stroked Helen's silky locks. God, how she loved the smell of Helen's hair. It was intoxicating.

"Right, you better get a move on darling, else you're going to be late for your first day of work and we wouldn't want that now would we?" Helen said as she reached out for Nikki's coffee mug on the table, "drink up, before its ice cold." Groaning, Nikki took the coffee cup and took a sip, "couldn't we just stay at home and spend the day curled up in bed instead, I could think of a few things that we could do that would be much more entertaining than working," she said as a mischievous grin lit up her face.

"Easy tiger," Helen said with a little chuckle. "As much as I'd prefer that to missing you all day long you know very well you'd regret blowing off this job later. You've worked so hard to get here; don't let a small case of nerves get you down now." "Come on," she said, taking Nikki by the hand and leading her toward the front door, "you're going to knock their socks off!"

Helen helped Nikki into her coat, it was chilly out and a light rain was falling steadily. Nikki placed her hand on Helen's heavily pregnant belly and stooped till it was at her eye level, "you look after your mum while I'm gone bean. And no more kicking her in the liver you hear, I know you fancy yourself as a footballer but there will be plenty of time to practice when you get out of there."

She kissed Helen's round stomach and bent further to pick up her briefcase from beside the coat rack. She'd packed it last night and then checked it repeatedly thereafter to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything. Rising with the case in hand she let out a nervous breath, "now or never I suppose" she said looking into Helen's beautiful green eyes, so full of pride.

Helen reached out and caressed Nikki's cheek, her skin warm and soft under her fingers, "you'll be fantastic my love, I have no doubt about it." Nikki leant into her touch and covered Helen's hand with her own. She could never understand where Helen's unquestionable faith in her came from. God knows she'd given her many reasons to doubt it over the years, but somehow it never seemed to fade.

Just knowing that Helen was with her every step of the way gave her the strength to strive for what she wanted in life. Smiling into Helen's eyes, she gently pushed her hair away from her face, bent her head forward and kissed her passionately. "I love you Helen," she said as she reached for the door handle. "I love you too babe," Helen said while giving her a gentle push out the door.

Opening her green umbrella Nikki stepped out into the rain and began walking briskly down the front path. She stopped at the small gate and turned back toward the house, Helen was leaning casually against the doorframe, one hand resting on her belly, watching her departure. When she saw Nikki turn at the gate she blew her a kiss and said, "Go on now, else I won't have a chance to miss you." With a smile and a small shake of her head Nikki opened the gate and started making her way down the street toward the underground.

Helen watched her go until she lost sight of the green umbrella when Nikki turned the corner. Stepping back into the hallway she closed the door and placed both hands on her swollen belly, "O.K bean, let's go find something to keep us busy so we don't miss her to much, what do you think?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Nikki stood across the street from the large glass and steel building watching the people coming and going from her new workplace. Chapman and Howell's brand new building was practically a monument to modern architecture, incorporating clean lines and the latest green ideas which were fast becoming the rage in construction and architecture circles. She had to give Henry Chapman credit; he was definitely a follower of the go big or go home philosophy.

None of this knowledge helped put Nikki at ease. As she stood there on the sidewalk listening to the soft patter of rain drops falling lightly on her umbrella and her heart beating wildly in her chest she sighed, "Here goes," she muttered softly to herself as she nervously made her way across the street, weaving through the parked cars as she reached the curb. A doorman enthusiastically pulled open one of the large glass doors as Nikki approached, "top of the morning to you ma'am," he said, touching the brim of his cap. A nervous grimace was all that Nikki could manage in return. She shook the tiny drops of water that still clung to her umbrella off and made her way across the expansive lobby to the reception desk. Her heels clicked softly on the granite floor as she walked.

She was greeted at reception by a petite, round faced blonde woman who didn't look a day older than seventeen. "How can I help you?" she said, her smile broadening to show off her perfectly straight, perfectly white teeth. "I have an eight o'clock appointment with Mr Chapman, Nicola Wade," Nikki replied, glad to hear that her voice did not sound at all as nervous as she felt.

"One moment please," the blonde smiled up at Nikki as she reached out a tiny, perfectly manicured hand toward a key pad on the desk. "Good morning Mr Chapman," she said into a microphone positioned in front of her fire engine red lips, "there is a Miss Wade for you sir." She listened for a few seconds, nodded, "certainly sir," she said as her eyes came to rest on Nikki's. "Mr Chapman is expecting you," she said, and gestured with her hand toward the elevators to her left. "He is on the eighth floor; walk straight out the elevator and through the glass doors, there will be someone waiting to escort you through to Mr Chapman's office."

"Thank you," Nikki said as she turned on her heels and made her way toward the bank of elevators. Her mind began to race as she stepped through the steel doors, all her doubts about accepting this job began to push themselves to the surface of her consciousness. "Suck it up Wade," she thought to herself as the doors slid open noiselessly on the eighth floor. "This could be the best thing that has ever happened to you, and besides, if it all works out you'll be making a big difference in people's lives, people going through exactly what you went through just about a decade ago." Hell, was it that long ago? To Nikki the memories were so clear and sharp that it could have been just yesterday.

Filled with an ever growing sense of purpose she pushed open the glass doors across from the elevators with ease and immediately spotted the tall, lanky man sporting a pair of fashionable glasses and a well fitted suit. Everything about the man shouted efficiency and perfection. Not a hair on his head was out of place and his every movement seemed to have a specific purpose. His eyes locked onto Nikki as she approached him, "Miss Wade", he said in a soft silky voice as he reached out with his right hand to greet her, "I am Philip Elliot, Mr Chapman's P.A." "Mr Chapman is expecting you, follow me please," he said as he turned quickly to his right and lead Nikki to a heavy oak door. Phillip knocked twice and immediately opened the door, gesturing for Nikki to enter. He pulled the door closed behind them and turned to address the small, balding, grey haired man behind the desk, "Nicola Wade for you sir," he said with just the slightest lilt of an Irish accent coming through.

"Ah, thank you Philip," he said as he raised his small frame from his leather desk chair and removed the rimless glasses from their perch on the edge of his nose. "Miss Wade," he said as he made his way around the desk, "it is a pleasure to finally meet you in the flesh." "Thank you sir," Nikki replied as she shook the small man's hand. She regarded him carefully for a few moments as he leaned up against the corner of his desk and asked Philip to bring in some tea for the two of them. She still found it hard to believe that this small, unremarkable looking man of about fifty was actually one of the most talented barristers in London. Looks could be deceiving…

When Philip had left, Henry Chapman's bright blue eyes came to rest on Nikki's face. His dainty frame, smiling face and balding grey hair made him look like a kindly school master, but those sparkling blue eyes betrayed the intelligence and drive hidden behind them. He appraised Nikki from head to toe from his perch on the corner of his desk.

"Well Miss Wade," he finally said as he folded his arms across his chest, "I've heard many good things about you over the past few months." He watched Nikki carefully, as if reading her reaction to every word he said. "You may not have noticed, but I attended the last case you defended. I make it my business to personally see all my future employees in action before their position is finalised, you have an impressive presence in the court room for someone with so little experience. And from what I've seen you are vigorous and passionate about justice." "Thank you sir, I try to do my best," she said, pride filling her voice. "To be honest, I was not originally considering you for this position. I was looking for someone with several years more experience and a more well known reputation," he paused and watched Nikki to read her reaction to this revelation. To be honest, she wasn't at all surprised, this was quite a startling offer and she was still waiting for someone to tell her it was all a joke. She nodded, never letting her eyes stray from Mr Chapman's face.

"This is going to be quite a change for you, stepping into a position in a private firm of this stature and there will be many people out there watching you, waiting for you to fail. Now it is my firm opinion that you will rise to the occasion Miss Wade," he said as a smile played on his lips, "and I am very rarely wrong." "Thank you sir," Nikki said, returning his smile. How was it possible that his words could fill her with both confidence and trepidation all at the same time?

"Right, I take it you have the gist of how this will be working, but I will send Claire to see you once Philip has you settled in and she can give you a more thorough brief. Rumour has it you two are old friends." Nikki's heart skipped a beat, she'd always known he would know everything about her past and had wondered if it would be held against her now, it certainly had been previously.

He seemed to read her thoughts, something must have flashed across her face at that moment, "don't be worried Miss Wade, I consider your past experiences to be an advantage to you in this profession, not a hindrance. You have more insight into these matters than even I have, use it to you advantage, don't let it stand in your way."

Henry Chapman removed a small pocket watch from the breast pocket of his waistcoat and glanced at it quickly, "Now Miss Wade, you'll have to excuse me, I have a rather important appointment in a courtroom across town. I'm sure Philip will be able to handle anything else you need," he said with a sparkle in his eye. Nikki stood, and shook Mr Chapman's hand, "Thank you for this opportunity sir, you won't be disappointed."

The door behind her had opened noiselessly and Nikki hadn't noticed Philip until he was by her side. "Let's get Miss Wade settled in Philip, I'm off to the courthouse, I will leave her in your all too capable hands," Henry Chapman said as he thread his arms into his jacket sleeves. With a small nod Philip turned and led Nikki from the room. "Let's start with a quick tour shall we?" he said as he closed the door behind him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Alexandra Montgomery sat quietly on the hard, uncomfortable wooden chair propped up against one of the insipid yellow walls surrounding the rectangular expanse in the centre of G wing. The smoke from her cigarette drifted slowly skywards as it smouldered between her fingers. Her eyes were fixed on the scared, green felt of the pool table in front of her where a hard fought game was in progress, but her mind was elsewhere. It had been two years to the day that she had last tasted freedom. Two years… It felt like a lifetime. Life within the walls of HMP Larkhall seemed to drag by, every minute felt like an hour, every day like a year.

At twenty one she was the youngest lifer on G wing. And all of it because of one stupid boy, one stupid night. Even after two years the memories of that night were still nothing more than disjointed fragments. She ran through it all once more in her mind as she sat there staring into space.

It had been a surprisingly warm spring evening and she and Scott were going to a dorm party at one of the most popular residences on campus. She still couldn't believe that they were actually an item. He was practically a god and she was nothing but a plain Jane. Well, in her eyes anyway. She'd stood in front of the mirror that evening after she'd gotten out of the shower and scrutinised every inch of herself before getting dressed. Her long, dark, wavy hair; her green eyes; her rectangular face. Granted she had a good body, toned and athletic, but she didn't see anyone she would consider breath-taking staring back at her. What was it that he saw in her, she'd mused as she stood there in front of that mirror? She'd pushed her doubts aside as she got dressed and added a few touches of make-up, nothing too extravagant, that wasn't her style.

They'd walked through the doors holding hands and every girl in the room had turned to see who Scott Crispin had come with, it had made Alex rather uncomfortable, being watched by all those eyes. Scott had grinned at her over his shoulder as he pulled her toward the make-shift bar and bought her a beer without even asking her if she wanted one. This is where things started to get hazy in Alex's memory. The only explanation she could come up with was that the bastard had spiked her drink while she wasn't watching.

Before she knew it she was in a room somewhere and Scott was on top of her, pressing her down against the bed with his muscular body. She had felt his tongue against her neck and his hands fumbling with the button and zipper of her jeans. She'd tried to say no, tried to make him stop but the more she fought the more he seemed to enjoy it. She heard a crash and smelt the odour of cheap beer mixing in with the tang of Scott's sweat. Thinking back now she realised she must have knocked the beer bottle from the bedside table as she struggled. He was just so heavy; she could hardly breathe never mind move. Panic stared to set in as she'd looked around the room for help, a weapon, anything.

She'd seen the broken brown bottle lying on the floor near her left hand at the moment he'd forced himself inside her. He had been too engrossed in his task at hand to notice her reach for the shard of glass from beneath him. She'd picked it up and instinctively thrust the sharp jagged edge into his neck. He'd gasped in pain and sat upright on top of her, pulling at the piece of glass jutting out from the side of his neck. He had screamed as he pulled it out, the sound of it still rang in her ears. There was so much blood. Scott had slumped forward onto Alex's chest, again pinning her to the bed. She had struggled under his weight, her hands, chest and neck slick with his blood, she could smell it, taste it, the metallic flavour making her gag. It had driven her mad. How she got out from underneath him was still a mystery to her, the next thing she could remember was running. Pushing through the masses of people on the stairs and in the lobby, she had to get outside.

The police had found her two hours later wondering around the streets of downtown London covered in dried blood and practically catatonic. She had no idea how she'd even gotten there, no idea where there even was.

Her eyes came back into focus and she noticed that her cigarette had long since burnt out and left a trail of ash on her thigh where she'd been resting her hand. "Shit," she swore as she dusted it off and banished the filter to the ashtray on the small rickety table beside her. She'd never smoked before coming to prison, never touched the stuff, but now she couldn't seem to live without the nicotine fix. She reached across the table to pick up her cigarettes, it was time to go find something to keep her busy for a while, she'd spent enough time reliving the past today.

Pat Kerrigan stood in the doorway of one of the cells directly across from the pool table. She'd been watching Alex for some time and there was something about the girl's demeanour that was unsettling her. Granted she had always been quiet, a bit of a loner, but something was different lately and it bothered her that she couldn't quite place what it was. She'd tried on several occasions over the past few days to talk to the girl about it but to no avail. Alex was a pro at dodging her questions.

"Oi, Julies," she said to the two older women who were deeply engrossed in the fashion magazine occupying the small table between them. "Have you two noticed something a bit, strange about Alex Lately?" she said as she watched Alex making her way up the stairs to the second floor landing. They followed Pat's gaze upward and caught a glimpse of the girl's back as she disappeared into her cell. "Now that you mention it," started Julie S, "she has been a bit odd lately hasn't she Ju?" "Yeah, a bit odd," chimed Julie J. "always been a quiet girl you know, but ever so polite. Nice to see some of the young ones still have some respect," said Julie S. Julie J nodded in agreement as Julie S spoke, "funny though, the last few mornings at breakfast she hasn't said a single word to us." "Yeah, not a single word," Julie J said, shaking her head. "It's like her body is here, but her mind is somewhere else all together," said Julie S, a look of concern spreading across her face. "What do you think it is that's got her upset like this?" asked Julie J as she looked up toward Pat's face. Pat shook her head and sighed, "I have no idea, but I'm bloody well going to find out."

"Mr Chambers sir," Pat called out as she pushed off the wall, walking quickly to fall into step beside the tall prison officer as he made his way toward the office. "Can I have a word sir?" she said. "It's about Alex Montgomery," she added softly so as only the two of them heard.

Aaron Chambers was Alex's personal officer and had earned the respect and cooperation of most of the girls on G wing with the help of his sincere charm and caring attitude. It also didn't hurt that he was probably the best looking screw ever to walk the corridors of Larkhall, his athletic body and dark brooding eyes always turned heads, not that he seemed to notice the effect he had on most women.

He opened the office door and gestured for Pat to enter. "Take a seat Pat," he said in his easy going tone as he closed the door behind him, "what seems to be the problem?" Pat pulled a face, as if suddenly unsure of what to say. "Well, it's just that I've noticed that Alex hasn't really been herself lately, kind of withdrawn. I've tried talking to her about it but she won't say a word, just brushes me off. I'm just worried that she might do something stupid. I know she trusts you, I thought maybe you could get through to her," she said.

Aaron nodded as he took in what Pat had just said. He'd noticed the change in Alex as well and hadn't been quite sure what to make of it. He also knew that for Pat to come to him with this, as her open disdain for those in a position of power, especial men, was no secret, she must have been truly worried about Alex. "I really appreciate you bringing this to my attention," he said sincerely, "I have noticed Alex's strange behaviour, she's been different of late. I'll go and see her, hopefully with a little gentle persuasion we can get this all sorted out."

"Thank you sir," Pat said as she stood and made her way to the door. With her had on the door handle she hesitated and turned back toward Aaron, "I really appreciate you taking this seriously sir," she said, opening the door quickly, she disappeared into the throng of women on their way back to their cells for evening lock up.

Aaron sighed as he got up from the chair and made his way back onto the wing. He hadn't quite made up his mind about what to do about Alex yet, talking to her would probably be a good place to start he thought. "Come on ladies," he said as he herded a small group of stragglers toward their cells, "It's time you lot got settled in for the night." "How about a good night kiss sir," one of the girls remarked with a wink. "Now now Reynolds, what do you take me for?" he said in a mock serious voice, grinning at her as he closed and locked the door between them.

After checking that all the cells on the lower landing were locked up tight Aaron made his way up to G2 to Alex's cell. He knocked twice, "may I come in please?" he asked through the door. When he got no reply he opened the small peep hole and looked through. He hated using it, it always felt like he was spying when he did. He spotted Alex on the top bunk, head phones in her ears and eyes closed, no wonder she hadn't replied.

Aaron unlocked the green cell door and stepped inside, he cleared his throat loudly to catch her attention, not wanting to startle her with his sudden presence. She opened her eyes and a slight smile touched the corners of her mouth when she saw it was him. She sat up on the bed, pulling the headphones from her ears, "and to what do I owe this pleasure?" she said as she pulled her legs up and crossed them in front of her. He smiled at her as he crossed to the foot end of the bunk and lent against it nonchalantly. "Just came to see how you were doing today," he said casually, watching her for any type of reaction. "Just peachy," Alex replied, he could hear the edge in her voice. He knew not to push her, that would make her clam up even more. "Look," he said softly, "I know there is something bothering you Ali, I can see it. I just want you to know that I'm here, if you ever want to talk about it, o.k.?"

He saw something flash behind her eyes and just for a moment he thought she might start talking, but just as fast as it had come, it disappeared and her face became a mask once more. "Thanks," she said bitterly, looking down into his face, "but I'm quite fine." Disappointed, he reached out his hand and patted her knee, "alright then, but if that ever changes you know where to find me yeah?" he said, holding her gaze. She pursed her lips and nodded. She replaced the earphones and turned up the music while he turned to leave the cell. As he locked the door behind himself he missed the single tear that ran down Alex's cheek.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Nikki marvelled at both the beauty and functionality of the internal layout of her new work place, everything just fit so flawlessly together. Very different from the cramped, cluttered environment she'd been working in for the past few years. Not that she was complaining she'd loved her previous job; it had gotten her to where she was today. Allan Sharp, her previous employer, was a brilliant mentor and one of the smartest, most dedicated men she'd ever met. He'd seen a star in Nikki and given her the chance to be part of cases she never would have dreamt of even seeing at the larger firms. He'd played an instrumental role in Nikki's acquisition of higher rights, without his or Claire's help she wouldn't have gotten very far.

She smiled to herself as she dawdled along behind Philip who seemed to be getting rather exasperated by her slow pace. He led her into the glass conference room that occupied most of the floor space in the left half of the central expanse on the eighth floor. A wide corridor separated it from an identical glass walled room on the right, a mirror image, perfectly symmetrical.

"This is the main conference room," Philip began, "we have a general staff meeting here every Monday morning at promptly 08h30, every senior solicitor is to attend and all general business matters for the week are discussed and a plan of action assembled. New cases are brought to everyone's attention and the progress of ongoing cases evaluated. It is a simple, yet effective way of bringing everyone up to date with what is going on around them. It also allows for brainstorming and a certain amount of teamwork on particularly difficult cases."

"The structure of this firm may be a little different from what you are used to Miss Wade. Mr Chapman and Mr Howell hold the titles of both solicitor and barrister. They have chosen to surround themselves with some of the best solicitors and solicitor advocates, like yourself, and keep things in house, and it has led to remarkable success," Philip said, a tone of reverence ringing in his voice. "It allows them to interact directly and on a personal level with those who bring in the cases that they will be advocating, leading to tremendous loyalty and a steady flow of cases" Satisfied that he had impressed upon her what a privilege it was for her to have been offered this job he swiftly went back to the role of tour guide.

"The offices are situated in a ring along the outer wall of the building, encircling this central area," he said as he gestured with his outstretched arms and rotated through three hundred and sixty degrees. "You have already been to Mr Chapman's office in the far left corner, and you will find Mr Howell's on the far right," he pointed in each direction as he spoke of it. "The remaining offices house the four solicitor advocates, including you, the senior solicitors and their assistants. The rest of the staff can be found on the floors below."

Nikki nodded quietly as she took in all the information that Philip was providing. She followed him once more when he made his way to the conference room door and turned left, easily matching his stride. He came to a halt in front of one of the large glass doors dotting the outer perimeter, which to Nikki's surprise already had her name on it. "As you can see," he said, inclining his head toward the door, "this is your office. Your assistant, Miss Jenifer Edwards, can be found in the office to your right; I will leave you to settle in. Miss Walker will be by to see you in thirty minutes. If you need anything further I'm sure that Jen would be more than happy to come to your assistance. Good day Miss Wade, it was an absolute pleasure to meet you," he said with a warm smile. "Thank you for your time Mr Elliot, you have been most helpful," Nikki said as she opened the door to her new office. With a courteous nod Philip turned and walked back in the direction of Henry Chapman's office.

Nikki stepped through the doorway and turned slowly form side to side, inspecting every inch of her new office, the large mahogany desk, the empty bookshelves, the tasteful art that adorned what would have been open wall space and the expansive floor to ceiling window that made up the far wall. "I could get used to this," she thought as she took a seat in the leather chair behind the desk, her desk.

She sat there rocking the chair from side to side and thought about the road that had brought her here, she thought back to the day she initially thought about perusing law as a career. The idea had first occurred to her about four months after her release from Larkhall. She and Helen had been out to dinner with Claire, their usual foray for a Thursday night and as was customary those two had their heads together in no time, talking about their jobs and all the injustice they dealt with on a daily basis. Helen had taken to her new job like a duck to water, she was now part of a team of specialists who reviewed, rewrote and implemented policies for British prisons. All the drama with Fenner had hit her hard and she was determined to change the system so that others, staff and prisoners alike, couldn't be taken advantage of.

As Nikki sat there, with Helen's hand resting lightly on her knee and Claire speaking about a particularly upsetting case of hers it struck her, she also wanted to make a difference. The injustice that went on in the British justice system was disgusting, just look where it got her. It made her blood boil when she thought of all the things she'd come across in Larkhall. After all that she'd experienced in those three years she couldn't just sit back knowing that there were others walking the same path she did, one without someone like Helen with them every step of the way.

At first she thought it just a passing fancy, quite ludicrous actually, how on earth could it even be possible for an ex con to become a lawyer? And besides, at 34 she was well passed her student years. So she had pushed the thoughts from her mind and concentrated on enjoying her freedom, and of course Helen. But the seed had been planted and the thought of such a challenge intrigued her. Once there was something Nikki wanted there was no stopping her.

At first she had kept her ideas from Helen, unsure of how she would react to the news of her plans to sell off her part of the club and jump head first into full time studies. Money wouldn't be a problem, the club was doing well and the sale of her share would make her a very rich woman indeed. But before she got ahead of herself she thought it best to speak to Claire first and find out if any of it was actually even possible.

Claire had been a little reluctant at first, as she had had an inkling that it would be a long hard fight Nikki would be walking into if she went after this, but when she saw the determination on Nik's face she knew there was no going back. After that her mind was easily made up, she would stand by Nikki's side every step of the way, helping as much as she could.

She had told Helen a few days later, a bit nervous about the way she would react to the news, they were just starting to settle down together and this was bound to put some strain on them. Not to mention the press fiasco it could turn into if this wasn't done carefully, she could see the headlines now, dyke cop killer dons court apparel, what is this country coming to? She had been a fool to worry about how Helen would respond, a smile had lit up her face as she came over and sat on Nik's lap, "I'm so proud of you," she had said, brushing Nikki's fringe from her eyes and kissing her deeply. "You're going to be one hell of a lawyer."

Claire had been damn right about the difficulties Nikki would have to overcome, her application had been turned down by every law school she had applied to. It seemed no one was at all keen on allowing a known criminal into their midst. It was Claire who came through for her in the end. It turned out the threat of legal action and large amounts of bad press were very persuasive incentives, especially when the name Chapman and Howell was thrown into the mix.

Claire rapped twice on Nikki's open door and walked in as she was turning away from the large window. "Beautiful view isn't it?" she said and embraced Nikki warmly. "Yeah, fantastic," Nikki replied, "it's a marvel you lot get any work done here, must take a lot not to sit and stare out the window all day." "That's what blinds are for," Claire said with a wink.

So, what do you think? Smitten with your new office yet?" Claire asked as she sat in the chair across from Nikki. "Yeah, not too shabby. Could do with a few extra shelves though, and maybe a fireplace, oh and a chandelier," Nikki said jokingly. Claire gave a little chuckle; Nikki's sense of humour was the thing she loved most about her. "How are Helen and the little one doing?" Claire enquired. "They are well, three weeks to her due date now and bean is getting a bit feisty these days, I think he enjoys giving her a good kicking every now and then," Nikki said with a grin. Claire shook her head and laughed, it was good to see Nik so happy, and she deserved every moment.

"Right, we better get down to business," Claire said in a more serious tone. "Philip has more than likely given you an overview of the general workings of the firm so I will fill you in a bit more with regards to what you and I will be tackling. Henry has wanted to start this pro bono project for some time now; it's been his baby for the past few years. It started out as a few cases every now and then but he always wanted it to be more than that. Which is where we come in. he feels that the firm should be giving back to the community, helping those that slip through the system and don't deserve to be behind bars, women in particular."

Nikki listened attentively as Claire spoke, "so where do our cases come from and how much say do we have in which cases we take?" "I was waiting for that question," Claire said, "Here's the good part. We pick our own cases, we have free reign. Obviously winning some high profile cases is a must for us and we'll have to prove our worth first but I have no doubt we'll make a great impression. The only way we can afford to provide this service is by generating loads of good press and getting the name Chapman and Howell out there and one everyone's lips. Two birds with one stone, we get innocent people out of jail and get good advertising at the same time."

Nikki smiled, "sounds good to me, when do we get started?" Claire laughed, "My, someone is quite the eager beaver, all in good time. For now you and I will be working together on cases. Henry feels that my experience will be helpful to build a good base of cases for you. As soon as you find your feet you will be getting cases from other solicitors in the firm as well. As you have rights in the higher courts you will be doing all the advocacy while we solicitors do what we do best and help you build the strongest cases possible."

"These prosecutors are going to have no idea what hit them when they come face to face with us," Nikki said. Claire could see the eagerness all over Nikki's face and caught a glimpse of the glint in her eye, it was almost predatory and it made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. She'd seen that same look in Henry Chapman's eyes many a time, the mark of a true fighter.

"I've already put together a list of possible cases for us to look at. As we are an untested team Henry will be keeping a close eye on us, and has personally approved all of the cases I have selected. Once we have proven ourselves we'll be out on our own most of the time, so let's put on a good show shall we?" Claire said enthusiastically. Nikki put her elbows on the desk and lent forward, "I'm up for it if you are." "Good," Claire said as she got up from the chair, "I'll leave you to get settled and fill up some of those shelves. We'll jump right in first thing tomorrow morning." "Thanks Claire, for everything," Nikki said, deep emotion creeping into her expression. "What are friends for?" Claire said, and with a small wave and a smile she was on her way.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: two years ago

"Bugger!" Nikki swore as she stretched her foot out of the car door and promptly put it down in an ankle deep puddle. Grabbing her briefcase from the car seat she set off hurriedly across the car park, shaking her foot every few steps in an attempt to get the remaining water out of her shoe. She plucked half heartedly at her scarf; it just wouldn't behave, and no matter how hard she tried the one corner just kept poking up in the wrong direction.

She speed walked through reception and took the stairs two by two up to the first floor, hoping no one would notice just how late she really was. She smiled as she remembered the cause for her tardiness, god, Helen could do fantastic things with her tongue… just the thought made her skin tingle. She tossed her coat over the back of her chair and slid in behind her cluttered little desk, her cheeks still carrying a rouge glow, which wasn't caused by her brisk jog up the stairs.

"Morning Nikki," Paul's greeting pulled her mind away from its attempt to relive this morning's escapades, "bit late this morning, any trouble?" he asked as he swayed his large frame around the furniture on his journey toward her desk. "Not really, just a bit of traffic," she replied matter-of-factly as she set about sorting the files on her desk in to some semblance of order. "Yeah, driving in this city these days is more trouble than it's worth," he said as he positioned his rather large bottom on the only open corner of her desk, which protested to his weight with a high pitched squeak. She was waiting for the day when her poor desk had had enough and both Paul and her entire case load would end up on the floor together.

Nikki listened unenthusiastically as Paul began to tell her about his latest cases, no offence to him but her mind would much rather have been spending its time thinking about earlier this morning than listening to anything he had to say right now. Strangely enough she and Paul had become quite good friends since she started working here, fresh from law school, they were an odd fit. She'd brushed him off at first but had soon realised that despite his appearance he was a rather intelligent, funny guy. He didn't have issues with the fact that she was gay, or that she'd spent some time in prison like most of the other staff did and he was genuinely just a good bloke.

"So I've got this chap in lock up at the moment. First time offender, been busted for possession with the intent to distribute, right cocky little bastard too. Went to see him yesterday, he's just a kid, not a day over nineteen. So I say to him, Robbie, you look like a smart lad, why this business with the smack? He looks me right in the eye and do you know what he says to me? He says, what's it to you fat boy? And by the way, its Robert Wade junior to you mate, I don't see any Robbie's around here. Then he promptly tells me to run along, cheeky sod," he chuckled.

Nikki froze, she couldn't believe what she had just heard, "What did you say his name was?" she asked, her hand still tightly clasped around the paper ball she was in the process of throwing out. "Robert Wade Junior," Paul replied in a make believe pompous accent as he inspected his tie and tried to rub out a large grease stain. "Oh shite!" he said suddenly looking up at Nikki, "Wade, I didn't think…" But Nikki had stopped listening; she already had her coat on and her briefcase in hand. "Do you mind if I highjack this one from you Paul?" she asked as she set of in the general direction of his desk, "I'm going to need all the information you have on him."

"Hang on Nik," he said as worry started to creep across his pudgy face, "I don't think that you getting involved in this is such a good idea." "Look, I need to do this Paul, so please let's not make this into a fight okay, you know I'll win," she said with a devilish grin. He knew Nikki well enough to know that when she got the bit between her teeth like this it was a losing battle. "Sure, sure," he sighed as he dug through the folders on his desk until he found what he was looking for. He held the file out to her and as she took it from his grasp he touched her sleeve, "you know where to find me if you need any help." "Thanks," she smiled, "when were you due to meet him again?" "At twelve today," Paul said, "Go on then, with such terrible traffic out there you're going to need a head start." Nikki caught the twinkle in his eye and laughed as she turned to leave, she should have known she couldn't fool him.

Nikki sat on the dented metal chair that was bolted to the floor of the tiny interview room. The place smelt like stale sweat and ancient cigarette smoke and the colour scheme left much to be desired. Her irritation was bristling just below the surface and for the first time in months she was craving a nicotine fix. She looked at her watch, stood and walked over to the door she had come in through, "what the bloody hell is taking so long?" she asked, giving the door two sharp raps with her fist, "bastards," she muttered to herself as she turned back toward the chair. Before she could sit down again she heard the rattle of a key in the lock of the door across the room.

Robert was ushered in by his burly escort, "Lightning speed you lot work at here," Nikki shot at the bored looking blonde thug. He shrugged, "Short staffed," he said as he turned his back on her and left. She turned her gaze on Robert, he was smaller than she'd expected but the family resemblance was undeniable. They had the same dark hair, the same eyes and even the same smile she noticed as he flashed his pearly whites at her.

"So, fat boy sent a lady to do his dirty work for him then did he?" he said as he swaggered toward the desk between them, "enchanté de vous connaitre mademoiselle," he said with an over exaggerated bow in Nikki's direction. Paul had been spot on about him she thought; he is a cocky little bastard. Not that that surprised her in the least, any child of her brother's was bound to pick up some of his personality traits.

"I suggest you sit yourself down in that chair Mr Wade so that we can get on with this," she said with a tight lipped smile. "Ah, but that's not fair, I see you know my name but I haven't yet had the pleasure of being told yours," he said as he stuck his hand out across the table toward Nikki. Grasping his hand tightly she looked him straight in the eye, "Nicola Wade," she said, "your solicitor."

His face paled instantaneously, "Holy shit!" he muttered, "face to face with the other black sheep of the family." He slumped backward into the chair, "last I heard you were in prison, for murder," he spluttered. "I was released a few years ago, successful appeal," she said flatly, "Not too surprised that you hadn't heard, quite sure that your father wasn't jumping for joy at the news." "No, I would suppose not," he said as he crossed his arms and appraised her more closely. "Didn't know you were a lawyer," he said after a moment of silence. "Haven't always been," she said as she watched him, "happened after prison." "From what I'd heard about you I didn't picture you as the academic type, especially not one to follow in my father's footsteps, solicitor and all," he said, trying to draw her out. "Your father and I have no more in common than our last name, we practice law for very different reasons," she said with an edge to her voice.

Nikki's curiosity got the better of her, "So what did you mean the other black sheep of the family, to my knowledge I am the only one who holds that title," she said with a grin. "Can see you haven't been keeping up," Robert chuckled. "I got tossed out on my arse and disowned last Christmas when I had the audacity to bring my boyfriend to our traditional family Christmas dinner. Dear old dad just about had a heart attack on the spot, in fact, if I remember correctly, I believe that was the first time in years that your name was mentioned in our house. Somehow they blamed you for my "affliction". Strange, considering that I don't even remember you."

"Yes well, your father was always the golden boy, never put a foot wrong. So it doesn't surprise me in the least that I somehow ended up being the scapegoat," she said with the shake of her head. "Your so called unnatural behaviour had to be someone else's fault." The fact that her brother could discard his own son like this saddened her deeply, he'd done the same with her, but they had never been close, maybe it was the nine year age gap, who knows, but his own son. Fury flashed across her thoughts.

"So what's the likelihood of you being able to get me out of this shit hole any time soon?" he asked hopefully. "Well, it is your first offence, so I'd say we have a pretty good chance. I'll see if I can have a word with the prosecutor and maybe we can work something out, but first you need to tell me how you got yourself into this whole mess to begin with," Nikki said as she shifted around in the uncomfortable chair.

"Long story short," he said, "after father dearest tossed me out with no allowance and stopped paying my university tuition I had to find a way to make a reasonably large amount of money on a regular basis and let's just say that waiting tables just wasn't going to cut it. One of my mates was into the whole recreational drug use scene and he knew a guy who knew a guy who was looking for someone who knew their way around campus and all the popular hang outs and wanted to make some cash on the side and hey presto I had a source of income." He shrugged like it was no big deal.

"Did you ever use any of the stuff you were selling?" she asked seriously. "Nah, what do you take me for? I'm not an idiot; I know what that crap does to you. It was just a means to an end. It paid my way through a year of uni, got me a place to stay and put food on the table, that's all it was good for," he said. "And besides, I didn't sell the hard stuff, my trade was hash, uppers, downers, you know a few e here and there."

"Right," Nikki said letting out a sigh, "let me see what I can do to get you out of here. I can't promise you anything just yet but if you man up and take responsibility for your actions hopefully we can get you nothing more than a slap on the wrist. But like I said, no promises, a lot will depend on the CPS and the judge you appear before. Does your father know that you are here?" she asked. "Not that I know of," he replied, "although I did throw my name about a bit, was sort of hoping it would get back to him that I'd been busted. Shame him a bit in front of his precious high powered friends," he said with a mischievous grin that seemed to be rather infective because before she knew it, Nikki was grinning too.

"Luckily for you I happened to be one of the people who recognised your name, Imagine the look on Robert's face when he finds out I ended up representing you," she said as the grin broadened into an outright smile.

They both looked toward the door behind Rob's back when they heard the key turn in the lock. The burly blonde thug was back, "times up," he grumbled as he made his way toward Rob, unbuckling the cuffs from his belt. Nikki watched him snap them onto his wrists, she saw all the bravado drain form his face as he stood there looking at her. She smiled at him reassuringly, "I'm going to get you out of here, okay," she said as Rob got a sharp tug toward the door. "Thanks aunt Nik," he said and flashed another mischievous grin before disappearing through the door.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Two years ago**

Nikki had had a long and difficult day; it had taken all her sweet talking and cajoling powers to secure a reasonable deal for Rob. Hopefully his day in court tomorrow would be nothing more than a formality. She climbed the few steps up to her front door slower than she usually did, contemplating how she was going to break the whole Rob saga to Helen. Talking about her family had never been one of her favourite subjects.

The minute she opened the front door her nose detected the tantalising aroma of her favourite dish, Helen was making her patented roast lamb. Nikki smiled as she set down her briefcase, hung her coat and discarded her keys on the table in the hallway. She kicked off her shoes and padded noiselessly down the passage toward the kitchen. She stopped in the doorway and leant against the frame, watching Helen as she worked. "if you want to eat any time soon you'll come over here and give me a hand with this instead of standing there staring at my bum," Helen said playfully without even turning away from the stove, "I know it's delicious looking but unfortunately it has no nutritional value."

Nikki laughed as she walked up behind Helen and slid her arms around her waist. Their bodies fit together like two pieces of a puzzle. Nikki swept Helen's hair to the side with one hand and placed her lips softly against the bare skin of her shoulder. She kissed her gently. Slowly, she moved up toward her neck, letting her lips trace lightly across Helen's skin, kissing her softly every few centimetres. Helen stopped stirring the sauce she had been making and closed her eyes, every muscle in her body relaxed as she leant into Nikki. She could feel the goose bumps spreading down her arm as Nikki's lips brushed against her ear.

Helen pushed the saucepan to the middle of the stove and switched off the heat in one swift motion as she turned in Nikki's arms to face her. She ran her hands up the Back of Nikki's neck and pushed her fingers into her short dark hair. Time stopped as she lost herself in the depths of those beautiful brown eyes.

Before she even had time to blink Nikki had lifted her feet off the floor and put her down on the kitchen table. Helen grinned as she wound her legs around Nik's waist and deftly began unbuttoning her shirt. Nikki cupped Helen's face in her hands and kissed her deeply. "Not that I don't fancy our kitchen table, but how about we take this somewhere a little more comfortable?" Nikki whispered in her ear as she intertwined her fingers between Helen's. "I quite like that idea," she said as Nikki led her by the hand to their bedroom upstairs.

By the time they had made it through the bedroom door they had both managed to shed most of their clothes. With their lips locked together they stumbled across the room and collapsed onto the bed. Helen wrinkled her nose and giggled when Nikki's tongue found the ticklish spot on the curve of her hip bone.

They had been lovers for several years now and each knew the whims and fancies of the other as intimately as they knew their own. Their love making was patient and yet still filled with a passionate intensity that had not waned over the years. Helen often wondered if other couples experienced the same magical glow she did with Nikki, it was amazing.

As they lay there entwined in each other's arms savouring that blissful moment the events of the day began to creep out from the corners of Nikki's mind. Helen felt the almost immediate change in her demeanour and snuggled even closer to her. She kissed the back of Nik's neck, "what's on your mind sweetheart?" she asked as she stroked her arm.

Nikki sighed, "It's this case at work. I sort of stole it form Paul, and now I'm starting to wonder if I shouldn't rather have just left well enough alone." "Go on," Helen encouraged as Nikki searched for the right words. "Well, let's just say I got reacquainted with someone from my past today." She was silent for a few moments before the rest of the day's events rushed out in torrents; she told Helen everything that had happened with Robert, not forgetting even the smallest detail. "So you see," She said at last, "I'm not quite sure what to do next. The boy will be released tomorrow if all goes to plan, then what? We go our separate ways and I forget he even exists, forget that he's probably going to go straight back to pushing pills to pay his way?" Nikki shook her head in disgust.

Helen was quiet for a while as she let all that had been said sink in, she continued to stroke Nikki's arm methodically as they lay there in silence. "Ah but I think you already know exactly what it is you are going to do, you've known all along," Helen said, smiling down at Nikki as she propped herself up onto her elbow. "Have you got some crystal ball hidden away somewhere that I don't know about?" Nikki asked, returning her smile. "I am the oracle, I don't need a crystal ball," Helen said in a serious voice, trying in vain to keep a straight face. "Well then oh all knowing one, I prostrate myself at your feet, pray tell, what is it that I already know I'm going to do," Nikki said with a laugh as she pulled Helen down on top of her and rolled her over so that she was the one now looking down into Helen's eyes.

They both laughed light-heartedly. "Firstly, you are going to make sure he takes that deal you organised for him, and then you are going to bring him home, where I will have tidied up the spare bedroom for him. Then we'll go to the bank and organise a student loan so that he can finish up at uni. You see, not rocket science is it?" Helen said and kissed Nikki on the nose. Nikki looked a bit sceptical, "I don't know babe, I hardly know the boy, the last time I saw him he was three years old and playing patter cake in the mud in my parents back garden. For all we know he could be a sociopath."

"This wee boy is your family Nikki, you can't turn your back on him now, he needs you. Imagine how different things might have been for you if you'd found someone to look out for you back then." Helen said. The compassion in Helen's eyes was what finally made up Nikki's mind; she put her arm around Helen and pulled her closer, "Where on earth did I manage to find such a gem?" She asked with a broad smile. I believe I'm the one that found you," Helen said as she wrapped her arms more tightly around Nik.


	7. Chapter 7

Hey guys, sorry for the terribly long delay between chapters but I was unfortunately just too busy to do any writing over the last few months. Things have luckily started to slow down now for a while so I'm hoping to be able to get a few more chapters finished off in quick succession. I hope you are enjoying the story so far, thanks heaps for the reviews and the tips, I appreciate the feedback.

Chapter 7(Flash-back: 2 years ago)

Nikki paced up and down the side walk outside a side door of the court buildings, waiting impatiently for Robert to make an appearance. She was getting a bit irritated as she had been standing out there in the cold for the last twenty minutes waiting for the boy. She looked at her watch again and mumbled to herself as she pulled her coat tighter in a feeble attempt to keep the cold at bay. She supposed that she could have sat in the car and waited, but sitting still was not one of her strong points at the best of times.

The court proceedings this morning had gone to plan and she allowed herself a little smile at how easy it had been for her to arrange it all. She certainly had the gift of the gab. Robert's case was heard directly before tea, a good thing too as the judge had been in a hurry to get to his biscuits and whole heartedly agreed with the deal Nikki had arranged with the state prosecutor. Robert pleaded guilty and accepted the hours of community service he was required to do at a local drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre and that was that, done in five minutes flat.

All that had remained for him to do was sign for and collect the few belongings he'd had with him when he was arrested and they could go. Unfortunately this was what was causing the current hold up. Nikki had just about had enough and was starting to contemplate leaving him here to walk home when she heard voices and laughing coming from just behind the door. "Cheers mate," she heard Robert say with a laugh to one of the security people as the door opened. He came bounding down the steps two at a time and practically knocked Nikki off her feet as he hugged her. Her irritation began to dissipate as she looked into his smiling face, "where have you been?" She asked, still a slight hint of annoyance in her voice. "Sorry Nik, you know how it goes, bloody coppers 'misplaced' my stuff. Took them ages to find it," he said, still smiling at her.

Nikki sighed, she knew all too well. "Come on," she said heading off toward the car, "let's get you home before Helen starts phoning the hospitals asking after us, I told her we'd be there ages ago." She'd filled Robert in before court about the plans she and Helen had made for him. He'd been a bit taken aback by it all. He'd asked her several times why they were willing to do so much for a known trouble maker like himself and he'd seemed close to tears when Nikki had put her hand on his shoulder and replied, "Because you are my family, and that's what families do."

Robert settled into the passenger seat of Nikki's car and tossed the clear plastic bag containing the clothes he was wearing the day he was arrested onto the back seat. He turned toward Nikki with a seriously look on his face. "Thanks Nik," he blurted out, "You really have no idea how much this all means to me. I'll never forget any of it. One day, I hope that I will be able to repay your kindness." Nikki was touched by the sincerity in his voice, "Yeah well, don't make me regret any of this," she said in a mock serious voice, the smile on her lips giving her away.

Helen must have been waiting for them in the hallway behind the front door, as they walked up the steps the door opened and they were greeted by her smiling face. She'd specially taken the day off work to sort out the spare room and make sure Rob's bed had clean sheets on it. Nikki smiled and slid her arm around Helen's waist, "I've missed you," she whispered into her ear and kissed her on her cheek. Turning, her arm still around Helen she introduced Robert, who, ever the charmer, dazzled her with one of his smiles and shook her hand, "a pleasure to meet you Helen." "Likewise," Helen said, returning his smile with one of her own. She was still quite taken aback by the family resemblance between Robert and Nikki, it was uncanny. "Oi, be careful with that Wade charm, with great power comes great responsibility," Nikki grinned at Rob and ruffled his hair. "But trust me mate, if you ever get into a bit of hot water with this one it always works like a bomb," she said, winking at Rob and giving Helen a playful little smack on her bottom as they made their way to the kitchen.

"Nikki Wade, you cheeky sod. How can you go giving away all my secrets to a bloke I haven't even known for five minutes yet?" Helen said, not quite managing to make the indignation in her voice sound real. "I'm terribly sorry my love," Nikki said, looking forlorn, "but I'm quite sure I can make up for my mistakes in some way or another a little later," she whispered to Helen, causing her to blush. Robert decided that this was his cue to make himself scarce for a few minutes. "Do you guys mind if I take a shower before dinner?" he asked, "Let's just say I wasn't too keen on the ones they had in the holding cells." "No problem at all," Helen said, "let me show you to your room while we are at it." As Helen walked passed Nikki she let her hand trace a path across her back and said softly in her ear, "Maybe you should hop through the shower as well, a cold one at that." She turned and winked at her as she led Rob up the stairs, that patented Helen Stewart smile with her tongue pressed to her teeth lighting up her face.

Nikki got out of the shower and slipped into her favourite track suit, that shower was just what she needed, although it would have been so much better if Helen had been there to wash her back, among other things, she mused as she towel dried her hair. A naughty smile crept onto her face as she lost herself momentarily in her plans for later that evening.

As she made her way down the stairs she could here Helen and Rob laughing in the kitchen. "Fast friends those two," she thought to herself with a smile. Helen beckoned Nikki toward her, "Have a seat sweetheart, we are in for a treat this evening, Rob here is going to make us some of his famous spaghetti bolognaise. Homemade sauce and all." "That sounds wonderful, I'm used to the bottle variety," Nikki said, pulling a face and inclining her head in Helen's direction, the side of her mouth curling into a mischievous grin, earning her a jab in the ribs. "It's a good thing I'm absolutely besotted with you Wade," Helen said with a laugh.

As rob went about the cooking Helen and Nikki sipped some red wine and chatted to him about what he wanted from the future and where he saw himself going. The boy had big plans for himself that was for sure. His field of expertise, computers and pretty much anything electronic, was neither Nikki nor Helen's forte and most of what he was talking about went way over their heads but he became so animated and intense when he spoke that neither had the heart to stop him.

Dinner had been amazing, Rob had turned out to be quite the talented cook and everything was so delicious that both Helen and Nikki had overindulged. Nikki decided that now was as good a time as any to share a little bit of good news with Helen and Rob. "I spoke to Trish this morning," she started, "turns out one of their bar ladies just up and left without a word a few days ago. Haven't been able to find a replacement yet and they are struggling just a tad at the moment. So I said to her that I might just know of someone in need of some work, if she didn't mind a bloke behind the bar." Nikki paused and watched the anticipation build on Rob's face. "She said that right now she couldn't afford to be picky and that an extra set of hands was an extra set of hands, which is exactly what they need. So tell me Robby my boy, how talented are you when it comes to serving up cocktails?"

"Bloody brilliant!" He said, a huge, radiant smile plastered on his face, "gay fellows and cocktail parties are synonymous darling. I reckon I could already mix a killer martini when I was still in my mother's womb." "Alright, alright," Nikki said with a laugh, "don't get too excited now, it's only a few nights a week, and it can't interfere with your community service or with uni you hear." "Aye aye captain," Rob said with a little salute. "And..." Nikki began, pausing for emphasis, "If you happen to knock Trish's socks off, there might be a more permanent position in it for you, and one of the perks of a permanent position happens to be a one bedroom apartment above the club. It's not much, but it's clean and sound proofed so you'll be able to study. But first you have to prove you can do the job and do it well, which means a one month trial period."

Even if she'd wanted to Nikki wasn't going to be given the chance to get another word out. Before she knew what was happening Rob was on her lap with his arms wrapped around her neck. Helen was now eyeing the legs of the chair Nikki was sitting on; she doubted whether it would hold both their weight for much longer. Luckily for the chair, before there was even time for a creek, Rob was up and hoping around the kitchen singing Nikki's praises at the top of his voice.


	8. Chapter 8

Again, sorry for the terribly long delay between chapters. Finding time to write between the big move, the new job and killer calls has been a bit of a problem. I hope that the last two chapters, although short, build on the story and actually make sense as i wrote both while i was post call and horribly sleep deprived. Enjoy, review if you wish and i hope to have another chapter out sooner rather than later.

Chapter 8: present day.

Nikki sat at her mahogany desk poring over the files Claire had given her. Over the past few days it had become a nightly ritual for her to retire to her home office directly after dinner and bury herself in work until the early hours of the morning. Claire really knew her stuff and Nikki was impressed with the quality of research and the care she must have taken to choose every one of the cases she'd pulled out of Pandora's Box, as she referred to it. If she could win even half of the cases she'd reviewed in the last few days it would cause just the right amount of unrest in all the right circles. Some of the miscarriages of justice and downright negligence of the courts that she'd come across so far was enough to make your hair curl, and she had no intention of keeping anything she found on the down low. People had a right to justice and a court system they could have faith in and she was damn sure going to try her level best to make a difference.

Satisfied with her chances of providing another woman with hope she closed the current file she had in front of her and pushed it to one side out of the bright pool of light cast by her desk lamp and reached for another from the box. Clair had been thoughtful enough to attach a photo of each of the women whose cases she had chosen to the front of their files. As Nikki looked down into the bright green eyes of Alex Montgomery she had no idea that her case would be one of the hardest, yet also most rewarding she would ever take on, not only would Nikki be righting a terrible wrong in someone else's life, she would also unknowing be conquering a few of her own deeply buried demons.

As she analysed the picture of Alex she wondered if she still had that natural curiosity you could see on her face in the photo, which by now was three years old, or if prison life had managed to rob her of that too. "She's a beautiful girl," Nikki thought to herself, not even an out of focus mug shot could hide that. She couldn't help but worry that maybe that wasn't such a good thing in prison.

Nikki opened the file and began to read through the material Claire had collected. The girl came from a middle class family, was well educated and had been at university studying biology at the time of her arrest. She had no violent past, no prior run in's with the law and had been a model citizen before being charged with, and found guilty of murder.

As she read through the statement Alex had given to the police one solitary line caught her eye, "there was a hell of a lot of blood, and I didn't regret a single drop of it." Nikki's breath caught in her throat as she read it and her knuckles turned white due to the pressure she was exerting as she clung to the page.

Suddenly she was right back at Chix, looking down at DC Gossard as he weakly tried to stem the torrents of blood spurting from the jagged wound in the side of his neck. The flash back was so powerful that she could even smell his sickly sweet cologne mixed in with the smell of cigarettes, blood and the red wine from the half empty bottle she'd broken over his head. Her heart was beating so fast she thought it might leap out of her chest at any minute. It had been a long while since she'd last had such a vivid recollection of that night, and she had hoped that they had stopped all together.

Slowly but surely her breathing returned to normal and her heart slowed. She unclamped her hands from the page and smoothed the wrinkles from it. She let out a deep breath and ran her finger through her hair, "I could really do with a cigarette right now," was the first thought that went through her mind. She smiled to herself as she imagined the look on Helen's face if she came up to bed smelling of cigarette smoke. She wouldn't hear the end of it. Nikki hadn't smoked in years but since they'd started trying for the baby Helen had become so health conscious that she wouldn't even go near anyone who looked like they might light up. Since the pregnancy her nose had become finely attuned to the scent of smoke and even the slightest whiff on someone's clothes would send her hurtling toward the bathroom. Cigarette smoke seemed to worsen Helen's morning sickness a thousand fold.

As she slowly worked her way through the rest of Alex's file Nikki knew that this was the case, the first she would tackle and the one she most wanted to win. She'd found several discrepancies with how her case had been handled originally that displeased her and she'd found a note from Claire alluding to a possible new witness and fresh evidence. To make sure she hadn't missed anything Nikki paged back to the front of the file and began to run through it again. This time she made notes of anything she thought to be important or facts that she needed to check with Claire.

Nikki was so engrossed in her reading that she hadn't seen Helen standing in the doorway, her left hand languidly stroking her belly as she watched Nikki. She smiled as she saw the familiar scowl that inhabited Nikki's face when she was in deep concentration. "You are going to get wrinkles if you keep staring at that page like that," she said with a grin and walked over to stand beside Nikki's chair, "and besides, I don't think any amount of face pulling is going to scare new information out of a piece of paper."

Laughing, Nikki stretched an arm around Helen and pulled her closer. "Cheeky sod," She said letting out a contented sigh and rested her face against the side of Helen's belly. Bean automatically rewarded her with a swift kick to the cheek. "Ouch, I seem to be getting it from all sides this evening." Nikki said, planting a big kiss right where the tiny foot was just a second ago. "You coming up to bed anytime soon?" Helen asked hopefully as she ran her fingers through Nikki's messy hair.

She watched as Nikki's attention wandered back to the open file on the desk, almost immediately she felt the change in Nikki's body language. Shaking her head she bent down and kissed the top of Nikki's head. Already being drawn back in by Alex Montgomery Nikki absentmindedly mumbled, "I'll be up in a minute," before scratching another note down on her legal pad. Helen knew she'd be spending another night alone and that she's most likely find Nikki curled up on the couch beneath the window when she came down for breakfast in the morning. She gave Nik's shoulder a squeeze as she left. "Love you babe," came the reply as Helen stepped from the room.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Flash back: 10 months ago.

Helen looked at her watch for about the hundredth time since arriving at the doctor's office fifteen minutes ago, she sighed nervously, "where the hell is Nikki?" she thought as she fidgeted with a loose thread she'd noticed at the hem of her skirt. She'd reminded her twice about their appointment this morning before she'd left for work. She checked her mobile again to see if she hadn't by chance missed any messages. Nothing… she picked up the magazine she'd been paging through earlier and started at the front page for the second time, she didn't even recognise any of the articles as she paged by them. The magazine was just an excuse to keep her hands busy.

The small bell above the door tinkled as Nikki pushed forward into the reception room, her eyes scanning the people seated along the walls and she smiled when they met Helen's. Her long strides carried her swiftly across the room and she took the chair to Helen's left, "sorry I'm late darling, the traffic was murderous," she said as she kissed Helen's cheek. She read the nervousness in Helen's posture immediately and reached out to squeeze her hand tightly. "Hey," she said, lifting her chin with her slim index finger to look her in the eyes, "everything is going to be just fine." Helen's forehead creased with worry, "how can you be so sure? What if she can't help us, or won't?" she said, her voice full of tension. "Shh," Nikki whispered, putting her lips close to Helen's ear, "take a nice deep breath, there you go, it's all going to work out, trust me." Nikki's calm voice soothed Helen who grasped her hand tighter and let out a long breath as she rested her head on Nikki's shoulder.

"Miss Stewart," called the receptionist from across the room. Nikki stood, giving Helen's hand a slight tug, 'come on then," she said, smiling reassuringly at Helen who got slowly to her feet. "The doctor will see you now miss," the receptionist said, pointing toward a door to their right, "Go on through." "Thank you," Nikki said, taking the lead and guiding Helen toward Dr Sheffield's office.

Alice Sheffield was a very busy woman, the fact that she was one of the best gynaecologists in London and a brilliant fertility specialist to top it off made quite sure of that. Nikki had heard a lot about her through the grape vine, she'd helped Trish and her partner Justine conceive and carry their two children a few years ago. So when she and Helen started to seriously discuss starting a family she had taken the liberty of getting Dr Sheffield's number from Trish and making them this appointment.

The good doctor was not quite what Helen had expected. Firstly, she was a lot younger than Helen had expected her to be. For some reason people always imagined doctors to be grey and wise looking. Her dead straight blonde hair fell to her shoulders and she was tall, almost as tall as Nikki. Her white coat billowed behind her, exposing her willow frame as she came around her desk to greet them. "Alice Sheffield," she said in a husky voice as she extended her hand towards first Helen and then Nikki. "Helen Stewart," Helen replied as they shook hands, "and this is my partner, Nikki Wade," gesturing toward Nikki.

"It's nice to meet you both," she said pleasantly. "Please, take a seat," she said as she returned to her side of the desk and sat down, neatly crossing her legs. "How can I help the two of you today?" As she swivelled back in her chair and clasped her hands beneath her chin.

Helen looked to Nikki and grasped her hand tightly, "we were wondering if you would be able to help us start a family," she said, hope radiating from her brilliant green eyes. Nikki smiled and gave Helen's hand a small squeeze as the both turned their eyes toward Dr Sheffield. Alice Sheffield had seen that look before, it was the reason she had chosen her field. Being able to give deserving couples who would cherish the gift of life she was able to give with every atom of their beings was what made her life worth living. Bitter sweet though it was, as she herself would never be able to conceive. "Well," she said after a brief pause, "you've come to the right place." The corners of her mouth curving into a small smile.

Helen was absolutely bursting with happiness as she rushed through the front door. She'd never felt more alive in her whole life. She'd talked the hind leg off a donkey all the way home in the car, Nikki hadn't even been able to get a word in edgeways, but it didn't matter to her at all, the one thing she'd always wanted was for Helen to be happy. She watched Helen flit around the living room, unconsciously tidying as she spoke. God how she loved this woman was the only thought going through Nikki's mind as she sat there on the sofa. "There is so much we have to do Nikki," she said, collapsing onto the sofa next to her. "We'll have to paint the spare room, convert it into a nursery, baby proof the whole house, buy loads of baby things and…" "Easy tiger," Nikki chuckled, "first things first, there is no guarantee it will work on the first try. We need to get into the routine she drew up for us and start reading the literature. And then there is the small problem of the sperm donor."

Helen made a face, "that's the only part I was worried about, what happens if we end up with some axe murderer's sperm." Nikki snorted at the look on Helen's face; she could be so comical at times. "I'm pretty sure Dr Sheffield would only supply 'merchandise' from reputable sources, and besides, Anthony and Sarah sure don't look like the offspring of a demented axe murderer now do they?" She said, winking at Helen. They both loved Trish and Justine's kids with all their hearts, they were beautiful.

"Uh hum," both Helen and Nikki turned to see Robert standing in their living room door way, neither could be sure how long he'd been standing there, they had been so wrapped up in their own world that they hadn't even noticed him. He had this fake hurt look plastered on his face, "you know, I can't believe you two," he said, both assuming that he was angry about not being told about the plans for the baby quickly began to apologise profusely. "I'm not finished," he said before either could get a coherent sentence out, "like I was saying I can't believe that you two would go out looking for a random sperm donor when you have a perfectly good one living under your own roof. It hurts you know," he said, adding a dramatic sniff for good measure. "When I heard you talking about getting pregnant two weeks ago, and yes, I was eavesdropping outside the kitchen door, I was so sure that I would be your first, and only choice in the sperm donor department that I scooted straight over to the doctor for all kinds of test, but alas… it seems that now you won't need to know that I am HIV and Hepatitis free, have no sexually transmitted infections, have a really high sperm count and that my little swimmers are rather fast little buggers. I'm also not an axe murderer, well, not that I know of anyway. Oh, and I happen to have an IQ of 144, not quite a genius, but you could do worse, just thought I'd throw that bit in there.

Nikki and Helen sat gaping at Rob as he stood there with a wicked grin on his face. "Unless you don't want me to be your sperm donor," he said with a shrug as he pretended to walk away. These two were a tad slower on the uptake than he'd expected them to be, "must be the shock," he thought. It took Helen a whole ten seconds to digest what she'd just heard.

"Robert wait," Helen stammered, "But… But… are you sure?" she wasn't quite sure that she'd understood his words correctly, a look of confusion still plastered across her face. "Of course I'm bloody sure," he said with a laugh, wriggling into the gap between Helen and his aunt on the sofa. "You two have done so much for me. It would be a dream come true to be able to help you with this. And besides, this way the baby will kind of be a bit of both of you seeing as Nik and I share some fabulous Wade DNA and I think we are actually rather good looking, wouldn't you agree Nikki?" He said with a very straight face before bursting into peals of laughter.

There was a moment of silence in the room as neither Helen nor Nikki could think of the right words to adequately express their overwhelming appreciate. The tears welled up in Helen's eyes and began cascading down her cheeks in small rivulets as she pulled Nikki and Rob into a bone crushing bear hug. "Oh, sweetie, please don't cry, you'll have me sobbing my eyes out if you carry on like this," he said as he wiped away Helen's tears with his shirt sleeve.

"We can't thank you enough," Nikki said, her voice trembling with emotion as she hugged Rob again. "Of course you can, I've already thought of a way," he said, grinning mischievously at them, "you can let me be the little rascal's very crazy uncle. The one who gets to baby sit and doesn't get into trouble for letting him or her eat ice cream for breakfast, and gets to tell him or her embarrassing stories about mummy Helen and mummy Nikki, it will be fantastic." He made a break for the door before the good natured slap that Nikki had aimed at his shoulder could connect.

They all looked at each other and began to laugh. "Thank you Robert, thank you." Her eyes willing him to see just how much this gesture meant to her. "It's only my pleasure," he said with a small bow, "Right, who's up for a good celebration?"


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: present day.

Nikki blinked as a bright light cut across her line of vision. She had no idea how long she'd been standing there staring at the massive wooden door that separated her from the inmates of HMP Larkhall. She had promised herself that she would never again cross the thresh hold into the Hell that lay beyond that door, but here she was. Granted the circumstances were very different but she couldn't help but be repulsed by the place. Somehow it seemed to just suck every bit of happiness out of her soul, like a succubus, she thought, just without the beautiful façade.

The hair on the back of her neck stood on end as the doors open, allowing her passage. Wondering if there was anybody still around that would recognise her here these days she stepped into the small courtyard where a Guard as broad as a brick shit house greeted her with a look of boredom. "Name?" he mumbled in a thick Yorkshire accent. "Nicola Wade," Nikki replied, "I'm here to see Miss Montgomery." The guard, whose upside down nametag read Sykes, ran his pudgy finger down the list of expected visitors until he found Nikki's name midway down the page. He checked her credentials, asked if she had any firearms or other dangerous weapons in her possession and rummaged through her briefcase looking for any form of contraband. "It's harder getting into this place than getting out," her attempt at humour falling flat. Sykes just stared at her unblinkingly, "You are cleared to enter Miss Wade, please follow the officer to the visitor's room."

Nikki fought to control the nausea that had begun to build from the moment the first set of gates were closed and locked behind her; she'd vowed that she would show no signs of weakness. Frankly, she couldn't afford to either, one whiff of fear in this place and the vultures started to circle.

The colour scheme had changed and she didn't recognise any of the officers but this place still made her want to run as far away from it as possible. The officer showed her into a dull, pokey little room with a scarred desk and two wooden chairs that looked none too comfortable. "Montgomery will be here shortly ma'am," her escort said curtly as he turned and abandoned her, closing the door behind him.

Putting her briefcase down on the table she turned to the single small window in the room, she'd almost forgotten how tiny it was. The bars obscured her view of the grey London sky and turned the courtyard below into a cobbled patchwork as she peered out. The memory flashed from a corner in her mind, there was Helen, rushing across the courtyard, coffee in hand and late as usual. Those small glimpses she got of her had kept her going for days back then.

She was so lost in thought that she hadn't heard the door open behind her, "well, look what the cat dragged in." Sylvia Hollamby's voice caught Nikki by surprise. Surely the old bag couldn't possibly still be around? "Sylvia," Nikki replied without turning away from the window. She was unable to keep the icy tone out of her voice, "haven't quite managed to move up in the world over the last ten years have you." "You always did have a mouth on you Wade, pity I can no longer give you the punishment you deserve," Sylvia sneered as Nikki turned to face her, "how they let a murderer like you out onto the streets never mind practice law I don't know. And now here you are, trying to help other criminals just like yourself weasel their way out of their debt to society, makes my blood run cold."

Neither woman seemed to notice Alex as she stood quietly watching the exchange between her solicitor advocate and her jailer. She'd heard rumours about Nikki Wade, but the stories had become a bit of a mixture of fantasy and legend over time that these days she wasn't sure what the truth was. Frankly she didn't really care; anything that got old body bag all riled up was fine with her.

She'd been intrigued when the letter from Chapman and Howell had come last week. At first she'd thought there had been some mistake but it had her name printed boldly on the envelope. Claire Walker had made a good argument for an appeal, so good in fact that it almost had Alex convinced that she had a chance of actually getting out of this place.

The pre Larkhall Alex, the one who believed in fairy tales and the inherent goodness of all of human kind would have been swept away by Claire's words, but things had changed. People from her previous life would hardly recognise her these days. This place had stolen her innocence. Today's meeting was nothing more than a change of scenery, something to distract her from the mundane monotony of life in prison. So far it was proving to be an interesting distraction; she had not been expecting Nikki Wade in person. She was a rather imposing figure in her dark suit, impeccably cut to fit her tall frame. Alex had never seen such intense dark eyes, and when Nikki's gaze eventually fell upon her she found that she was unable to look away.

"Miss Montgomery, please forgive my rudeness, I'm Nikki Wade, old Body bag here has a way of making me forget my manners," Nikki said, the corner of her mouth turning upward as Sylvia Hollamby opened and closed her mouth like a stunned puffer fish. "Run along Sylvia, we wouldn't want to keep you from your tea now would we?" she said, her dark eyes twinkling. Alex could not stifle the giggle that escaped from her lips as Body bag turned and left in a huff.

Nikki's gaze slid over the girl in front of her. She'd lost weight; she could see it around her eyes. Her stance was defensive and Nikki knew Alex was appraising her as well. Her eyes were sharp and cautious as she looked at Nikki, who smiled at her to try and break the ice. Nik knew this wasn't going to be a walk in the park, she recognised the stubborn set to her jaw and the look of mistrust in those green eyes was unmistakable.

Alex took the chair that Nikki motioned her towards and crossed her arms across her chest, never letting her eyes stray from Nikki's face. "Right, let's not beat around the bush," Nikki said as she snapped open the clasp of her briefcase, "basically, Claire and I are part of a pro bono initiative set up by our firm as you will know from the letter sent earlier in the week, we have been reviewing your case files and from what I've seen there is a good chance that we can get you out of this shit hole. Now I'm not making any promises just yet, our legal system can be somewhat, unpredictable shall we say but as I said, I'm cautiously optimistic." Nikki hoped that the straight to the point approach would work; she got the feeling that trying to use kid gloves with Alex would not go down well. Just a few minutes with her and she already knew there was more depth to this young woman than she'd expected. Even though Alex had become rather adept at hiding anything that was going on in her head Nikki got glimpses of passing thoughts while watching her eyes. If there was one thing Nik was good at it was reading people and she was finding Alex a challenge, and boy did she enjoy a challenge.

"Our investigator has turned up a few leads already that we are looking into, there seems to be a witness that didn't come forward at the original trial. With your permission we'd like to start looking into what happened to you two years ago and how things managed to end up with a guilty verdict with the crap they presented at your trial," Nikki said with feeling. She looked up into Alex's eyes; all she got in response was a noncommittal shrug. "Look Miss Wade, I know you mean well, and you have my permission to do whatever it is that you want but please, don't expect me to be bouncing around with joy because frankly I can't afford to even hope for the best in here. If you have hope it's just one more thing that can be taken from you. So you do what you have to do and I'll do the same," Alex said as she stood and walked toward the window Nikki had stood in front of only moments ago.

Nikki nodded; she knew exactly what Alex meant. She remembered how she'd felt when Helen had started talking about her appeal. It was probably best this way. She liked this girl, she couldn't quite put her finger on exactly why just yet but she'd learned long ago to trust her gut when it came to such things. "Good," Nikki said as she rose to her feet, "We'll be in touch Miss Montgomery. I will keep you abreast of any new information, now that I have your go ahead we can start getting the wheels rolling." Nikki stretched her hand out as Alex turned from the window, "It was nice to meet you Miss Montgomery," she said as she felt the strong fingers enclose hers. "Please, call me Alex," she said just as they heard the rustle of keys from beyond the door. Their half hour was up. A young man came into the room; he smiled at Alex, "Ready to go Ali?" He asked. Nikki was surprised to see her return his smile, "As ready as I'll ever be Mr Chambers," her face changed and for a moment she saw the girl in the photo from two years ago. It was good to know she was still in there; it gave Nikki just that little bit more drive to put this right. This girl could have a normal life, a life she deserved. The young P.O turned to Nikki and added politely, "If you wouldn't mind waiting a minute Ma'am, there will be an officer here shortly to escort you out." He touched Alex's elbow gently, letting her precede him out of the room. Nikki packed up her briefcase and stepped out into the hallway to await her escort. Who, with her luck was probably Sylvia, whom she knew would get an immense amount of pleasure out of making her late.

She looked at her watch and then longingly at the locked gate that stood between her and the outside world. "Bloody Sylvia," she mumbled under her breath. "Nikki?" called a vaguely familiar voice that she just couldn't quite place. She looked up to see a dark haired man walking toward her. Still she was hitting a blank. It wasn't until he got closer that she recognised his smile and his bright blue eyes. "Oh my God, Dominic! What in hell's name are you doing here? I thought you were in Greece with that gorgeous wife of yours. Helen showed me the wedding photo you mailed her. Congratulations mate." Nikki said, a genuine smile lighting up her face.

"Yeah, we stayed in Greece for a few years but I felt like I needed something more. Came back, went to uni. Kind of always wanted to make a difference you know," he said looking sheepishly at her. Nikki laughed, "Yeah, you martyr types, like being tortured don't you? I would have stayed on a beach somewhere if I were you mate." "Well then why aren't you camped out on that beach somewhere yourself? And anyway, I had a good role model. How is Helen by the way?" "Yeah well, seems we had the same role model eh. Said role model happens to be fat and very grumpy these days," Nikki replied, unable to supress the laugh when she saw the shocked look on Dominic's face. "Her words, not mine," Nikki said with her hands up in the air in a defensive pose, "She's about eight and a half months pregnant and utterly over it at present." Dom chuckled, "Congratulations Nik, your first?" "Yeah, she's due to go in for her C-section in a week and a half. I must say, I'm rather excited to meet the little tyke," Nikki said as they walked through the prison.

Before she was even fully aware they were standing in front of the large door that would take her out into the real world again. "Thanks for walking me out Dom, I really appreciate it. You and Nat should come and have supper with us sometime soon," Nikki said as she took her car keys from the gate guard. "That sounds fantastic Nikki; I'd love to see Helen again. I actually have a few things I'd like to run past her if she's keen to listen to my ranting." Dom looked down at his watch, "Blimey, sorry Nik, got to run, no rest for the wicked," he said, nodding to Sykes who nodded back, a sneer crossed his face as soon as Dominic had turned to leave. "You must be one special lady to have the number one walk you to the gate," he said as he opened the large door for Nikki. "Well I never," Nikki said with a chuckle as she made her way back to the car.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 (Present day)

Nikki sat at the conference table across from Claire and hammered her pen on the legal pad in front of her absentmindedly. It was a habit she'd picked up from Paul that seemed to pop up whenever she was agitated. Claire gave her a withering look from over the top of her glasses. "Sorry," Nikki muttered and made a big show of putting the pen down with exaggerated gentleness. She lasted a whole two minutes before looking down at her watch and exploding, "Oh for goodness sake! Where is the woman? She has absolutely no regard for time; she's fifteen minutes late already." Claire just shrugged and carried on making notes without even looking up. She was already accustomed to Andi's tardiness. Not that she endorsed it; she had just given up trying to change the firm's feisty little investigator. She always produced what was needed, that was all that mattered.

"Speak of the devil," Claire said as she watched Andi push through the glass doors. She was wearing what Claire liked to call her "outfit", Knee high leather boots, a skin tight skirt that left nothing to the imagination and her patented leather jacket. She approached the two women who she'd kept waiting, smiling warmly at Claire but affording Nikki but a stiff nod. She hadn't decided yet whether she liked Nikki Wade, but she sure did enjoy pushing her buttons.

The first time Nikki had met Andi she had thought Claire had been joking when she introduced the tiny, exquisite Indian girl as their lead investigator. She looked more like someone who should appear on Bollywood big screens, her beauty was intense, even in her garish clothing. She had quick amber eyes that hinted at the intelligence behind them, a perfectly proportioned body and long, dark hair that Pantene would pay billions for in one of their adverts.

She put a large brown envelope down in front of Claire and tapped it with her index finger, "You are going to like this." Andi pulled up a chair and when it became clear she wasn't going to elaborate Nikki sighed, "How about giving us a bit of a briefing on what you managed to dig up, please?" She added after a brief pause. Andi turned her amber eyes onto Nikki, staying silent for a few seconds just to see if she could make her squirm under her piercing gaze. Nikki held her eyes without falter, Andi shrugged; "sure," she said as she leant back in the chair and crossed her legs, affording Nikki an uninterrupted view of her thigh.

"You asked for something juicy, and that just happens to be my specialty love," she said with a sneaky smile. "Turns out, little Scotty had a best mate. Said best mate is currently sitting in a cell in one of Her Majesty's Fine prisons serving five to ten for several counts of fraud and extortion. Seems being born into money makes some people think they are untouchable. Max Bartholomew Doring learned the hard way that he isn't above the law, no matter what his daddy does. But he's a conniving little bastard and it just so happens that Max has something we want. For a price." "Of course he does," Nikki said in exasperation, "are you sure this little bastard isn't just playing with us to get a reduced sentence?" "My first thought as well, now I haven't had much time to work it all out just yet but there does seem to be a hint of truth to his story so far," Andi said as she lace her fingers together under her chin and used the toe of her boot to swivel from side to side on the chair.

Nikki could tell that Andi was doing her best to try and irritate her by not just getting to the point. What she couldn't understand was reason for her little game. Claire seemed absolutely oblivious to the power play unfolding in front of her as she prompted Andi to continue. "Well, according to Max, Alex was just supposed to be part of some depraved game these two sickos came up with to pass the time. They would pick girls, usually first years, those of lesser means than themselves and always ones that they suspected were still virgins. They would be all charming and sweep them off their feet but the ultimate goal of the whole game was rape. Their innocence had to be taken, not willingly offered." The words were said with such calm detachment but Nikki was sure she saw pain flash across Andi's eyes. "The rush was that the girls actually knew the identity of their attacker, it was as if they were daring them to tell. And none of them ever said a word. Unfortunately for Scott, things didn't exactly go quite as planned with Alex."

"So our boy Max is willing to tell the court all of this in exchange for a reduced sentence then?" Claire said as she looked up from her notes. "Not exactly…" Andi said. "Max doesn't want the world to know that he was Scott's wingman, you know, bad press and all that." "Lovely, our con man has conditions. So what is it exactly that his royal highness of fuck ups is willing to give us?" Nikki spat through clenched teeth. "Ah, well that's where the envelope comes in. He gave me a name, just one for now, like I said, he's a conniving little bastard." Claire handed the envelope over to Nikki who ripped the seal and emptied a stack of photos onto the table.

"That is Julia Fogwell, one of Scott's victims." Andi said as she tapped the top photograph. "Well that's it then, if the girl comes forward then we don't need Max and he can stay in jail and rot for all I care," Nikki said as she studied the pretty girl smiling up at her from the photo. She had on a high school sports kit and her foot rested on a football. "I wish it were that easy," Andi said with a sigh, "when I spoke to her about it she practically had a nervous breakdown, started balling her eyes out. Told me if I said a word she'd flat out deny it and sue me for slander. Max must have scared the bejesus out of her somehow."

"Fan bloody tastic! So we are back to square one. It seems we are going to have to rely on our resident sleaze ball for our information. I'm assuming he has conditions?" Nikki said as she tossed her pen down onto the table. "Firstly, he wants out of lock up, like yesterday and he wants his name well clear of all of this, as if he was never a part of it." Andi said. "And what exactly will he be putting on the table?" Nikki asked. "The name of a girl who is willing to talk… and the video clip." Andi said. "What video clip?" both Nikki and Claire looked confused. Andi shifted her gaze from one set of eyes to the other as they stared at her. When she was satisfied that she had fulfilled her need for dramatic appeal she continued, "He claims that Scott got a kick out of filming his conquests and reliving them later. I'll give you two guesses as to the identity of the camera man. He's willing to give us Alex's video clip"


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 (Present day)

"Helen!" Nikki called up from the bottom of the stairs, "you are making us horribly late." Helen grabbed her scarf from the hook behind the cupboard door and draped it haphazardly over her shoulders. "Alright, alright. Don't get your knickers in a twist," Helen huffed as she manoeuvred her way down the stairs. "No offence bean, but I'm looking forward to the day when I can see my own feet again," she said stroking her stomach. "What?" she said, looking down at Nikki smiling up at her, "One minute I'm in trouble for making us late and now you have a huge smile on your face." "You look beautiful, that's all," She said, taking a step up and offering Helen her hand. "Don't worry, I've already let Dominic know that we would be late," Nikki said with a chuckle as she helped Helen into her coat.

They arrived at the McAllister residence twenty minutes late, Helen looked over at Nikki apologetically, "I promise to try harder to be more punctual, scouts' honour," she said, holding up her index and middle finger in salute. Nikki snorted a laugh as she open Helen's car door, "I'm sorry my love, but I just don't think that's possible. Actually, I find your poor punctuality to be one of your most endearing qualities. It lends to the anticipation of seeing you. Good things come to those who wait." Helen smiled, "Every now and then I forget why you're such a good lawyer, it's moments like these that I'm reminded. Your silver tongue has no limits," Helen said as she slipped her arm into Nikki's and walked up the garden path to the front door. "Well, you do have more experience with my tongue than any other person so I'll take your word for it," Nikki said, giving Helen's arm a squeeze. "That is not suitable dinner table conversation, but I'd love to continue this little chat latter. And you know how much better I grasp things with a little practical demonstration," Helen said as she rang the bell.

Dom opened the door and smiled welcomingly at his guests. It had been ten years since he'd seen Helen in the flesh, and she was still as beautiful as he remembered. "Hiya Helen," he said as he took her in his arms and hugged her, being gentle so as not to damage her precious cargo. She held him at arm's length and gave him one of her smiles, "Dom, you look fantastic mate." Even now she could still make him blush, Nikki found it amusing. He led them through to the kitchen where the tantalising smell of lamb drifted on the air. "Oh my word, that smells absolutely amazing," Nikki said as they walked through the door. "It's one of Nat's specialities. Greek style lamb shank," he said as his wife turned from the stove to greet them. "Welcome, it's so lovely to finally meet you two. Dom talks about you ladies often, it's good to finally put faces to the names, photos just don't have the same effect," Nat said with a smile. "I hope you ladies are hungry, I may possibly have overdone it a bit and cooked enough for an army." Helen laughed, "Trust me, I'm pretty sure I can find some space for a few extra helpings, if it tastes even half as good as it smells you might have to roll me out of here later. She immediately turned to Nikki and silenced her unspoken quip with a playful stern look.

Nat's lamb shank was fabulous, and Helen had managed more than one extra helping. She sat on the couch with her tea cup in hand admiring the art work on the walls. "These pieces are stunning Dom, who is the artist?" she asked? "Nat did all of these actually, she loves to paint. She says it's her escape from the real world," he said, putting his arm around his wife's shoulders, he smiled down at her. "It's just something I do in my spare time, Dom insists on putting them up all over the house. I haven't quite figured out how to quietly hide them," She said. "You shouldn't hide your talent Nat, they are really beautiful," Nikki said as she gazed at the landscape nearest to her, "In fact, I could do with a Natasha McAllister original in my office. Name your price." Nat laughed, "Oh no Nikki, I should pay you to take one off my hands, and they are starting to clutter our spare bedroom because Dom here won't let me throw any of them out." "One day, when you are famous, you are going to thank me for not turning your work into recycling," Dom said as he kissed his wife's forehead.

"So Dominic, Nikki tells me you are back at Larkhall. I didn't see that coming, I thought you had sworn off the prison service for good?" Helen said as she sipped her tea. "Well, just after I left the service I had no intention of ever going back but the longer I was away the more I started thinking about how bad things inside were. I felt like a bit of a traitor, just walking away when I should rather have been doing something to improve the system. It took me a long time to get to grips with everything going on in my head and in the end, believe it or not, it was something you said to me all those years ago that made me get back into the ring so to speak. You had faith in me Helen, which was the little nudge I needed. I went back to uni, did a few courses and came out the other side with a few more tools that I can use to help turn things around. I think I can make a difference." Dom said with passion. "I'm glad you didn't give up Dominic, The prison service needs men like you," Helen said, giving him a genuine smile.

"I appreciate that Helen," Dominic said as he lent forward, "I actually have a bit of a favour to ask of you, I have a feeling that your first instinct is going to be to say no, but I'd like for you to at least consider it before turning me down. It is actually your plan to begin with so it's only fair that I ask." Helen looked at him in confusion. "Sorry, I'm being a little cryptic. Let's start at the beginning shall we? Do you remember when you were number one at Larkhall and you spoke about converting at least part of the prison into a lifers unit?" Dom said. Helen nodded. "I have sort of being mulling over that idea for a while now. I recently worked out and wrote up the proposal for the prison board and it was reasonably well received. They want to use G wing as a pilot study." Dominic looked at Helen expectantly. "That is fantastic Dominic," Helen said, smiling at him, "But I still don't see what this has to do with me, you certainly don't need my permission if that's what you are asking for."

"Well, no. I want to ask you if you would consider being a part of it. You are fantastic with the woman Helen, I have seen you work your magic and there aren't many like you out there. I'm looking for revolutionaries and who better than the woman who inspired it all? I get to hand pick my team and I want you on it." Dominic said, looking into Helen's eyes in anticipation. He saw the doubt on her face. "You don't have to answer me right now, just think about it," he said. He knew that he had planted the seed in her mind and that was all he could hope for right now. With a little luck that seed would grow and blossom in Helen's imagination and if that started to happen he was pretty sure he had her.

* * *

Later that night as Helen lay in bed she played Dominic's words over in her mind. Nikki could see the cogs turning in Helen's head; she could feel the restless lie in her body, she could always tell when Helen was in turmoil. She pulled her closer and ran her lips over her bare shoulder, making her shiver. "You know you want to do it," Nikki murmured in her ear. "Do what?" Helen asked distractedly as she stroked Nikki's arm. "Work with Dominic," Nikki said softly, "I've seen that look before, you should go for it Helen. It was your idea, and besides, he's right. He needs revolutionaries and there is no better way to explain you. He needs you." "I don't know," she said uncertainly, "I walked away from that place for a reason Nikki. I'm not sure I could ever go back there. I know it sounds strange because my work still involves the prison service, but it's different when it's just on paper. I'm not sure I could deal with it if this ended up pear shaped. It just feels like everything I tried when I was there just fell flat. I'm not very good at being a failure."

"Hey, where is this coming from?" Nikki asked giving her a squeeze, "You are my hero. You saved me from that hell hole, and I'm not the only one. You made a difference in there Helen. You touched people's lives in a way that they will never forget. We can't let that place have some kind of a cult status in our lives. And if there is a way that you can help people with this project you need to do it. I spent far too much time fearing and hating that place after I got out, and where did it get me? I couldn't go back, I lost touch with my friends, and I lost Yvonne. I don't want you to make the same mistake and regret it later. If this is something you really want then take it."

Helen turned to look into Nikki's eyes; it was there that she found the strength and determination to make a decision. "Do you think it's too late to ring Dominic?" She asked. Nikki Chuckled, "I think he can wait until morning."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 (Present day)

The shrill sound of the alarm broke into Nikki's consciousness and she groaned, stretching her arms out towards Helen's side of the bed. She opened one eye cautiously when she found nothing but cold sheets with her outstretched hand. That was odd, Helen was definitely not a morning person and on a normal day it would take nothing short of a miracle to get her out of bed at this time of the morning.

Nikki started to panic, was there something wrong with the baby, why hadn't Helen woken her? She launched out of bed and wrapped her dressing gown around her shoulders as she called out, "Helen?" When she got no answer she stuck her head into the en suit bathroom, no sign of her. She took the stairs down to the ground floor, two at a time while calling Helen's name. "In here," came the muffled response from Nikki's office. "That's weird," thought Nikki as she jogged down the passage. Helen hardly spent any time in the home office if she wasn't in there with her. She walked through the door and found Helen sitting in front of the computer totally engrossed in whatever was on the screen. She looked up and smiled at Nikki, "Morning," she said. The smile dropped from her face when she saw the concern in Nikki's eyes. "Babe, you scared me half to death when you weren't there when I woke up, I thought there might be something wrong with the baby." Nikki said as she walked over and kissed the top of Helen's head. She ran her hand over Helen's belly and waited for a little kick as if to reassure herself that everything was indeed still fine.

Helen looked up at her with confusion on her face. "It's 5:30am, I can hardly get you out of bed by 8 without a forklift or death threats, what was I supposed to think? Nikki said with a mischievous glint in her eye. Helen gave her a playful smack on her bum as she turned back to what she'd been reading. "Very funny Wade," she said.

"What have we got here then," Nikki said as she leant forward to read over Helen's shoulder. "It's Dominic's proposal, the one he sent to the Home Office, regarding turning G wing into a lifers unit. He was really thorough; I can see why they are so impressed with it. I couldn't have done any better myself," She said as she scrolled through the documentation. "Well he learnt from the best," Nikki said as she skimmed through it quickly. Helen swivelled around in the chair to look at Nikki. "I think this could really work Hun," she said as she reached out and took Nikki's hands in her own, "And I think that I might want to be a part of it."

Nikki knelt down in front of Helen and moved a strand of hair behind her left ear, "I'm glad you've found something you feel passionate about my love, and whatever you decide, I'm behind you all the way. Just promise me one thing O.K.?" Nikki said, looking deeply into Helen's eyes, "if it ever gets too much you walk away. That place has no power over us anymore; it doesn't have to be in our lives if we don't want it to be." "Promise," Helen said as she looked down at Nikki and traced her thumb over her lips.

"Do you think it's too early to give Dominic a ring to tell him I'm interested?" Helen asked as Nikki stood to leave. She laughed, "I think you should give him at least another hour babe, now come back to bed, I'm sure I can entertain you for at least that long." "Not dashing off to gym this morning then?" Helen asked with a naughty smile starting to pick at the corners of her mouth. "Well seeing as you are up, I can think of several far more pleasurable ways of burning calories," Nikki said as she tugged Helen to her feet and began to lead her up the stairs.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14 (Present day)

The prison transport van came to an abrupt halt, catching the prisoner off guard and throwing her forward in the tiny cubicle. She knocked her elbow hard and cursed, "Oi, where did you learn to drive you stupid git! We aren't bleedin' cattle you know." She banged her fist hard against the metal partition to make sure she was heard. "Stand clear from the door please," came the muffled reply as she heard the key turn. "About time innit. You lot sure know how to take the roundabout route," Michelle Dockley said as she climbed down from the van straightening her skirt. She looked up at the familiar building in front of her as a sinister smile curled the corners of her mouth. The sight of that smile of hers made the hair on the back of Aaron's neck stand on end. This woman gave him the creeps and he'd only known her for a few seconds.

"This way please miss," he said, trying to catch her attention by guiding her gently by her elbow. She pulled away violently, "Who the bloody hell gave you permission to touch me." "Sir," she added after a short pause. Her eyes turned on him for the first time, he could feel them travelling over his body. "Well, well. Larkhall has certainly had an upgrade in the prison officers department," she took a step towards him and traced her index finger down his tie as she leered at him, "I seem to have changed my mind, you can put your hands on me any time you like, sir." Aaron grabbed her wrist just as her hand grazed his belt buckle. "That is more than enough from you Miss Dockley, now if you wouldn't mind," he gestured toward the door, "let's get you settled in shall we?" "Oh please sir, lets," she smiled her lascivious smile and turned on her heels, wiggling her bottom at Aaron as she walked. No wonder the number one had warned him about her, this one was trouble and it gave him an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Shell Dockley was up and dressed by the time the screws came a knocking. She'd applied her makeup with great care that morning and chosen her best outfit. Today was the day that she'd be back on her old stomping ground and she was sure as hell going to be queen bee again, right from the get go. She wondered if there would be any familiar faces out there. She'd heard that that old tart Atkins had shrivelled up and died under the prison trying to escape. Served her right that stupid bitch. She'd also heard about Fenner, no loss there, especially now that there was such tasty fresh meat on the wing. Although after what he did to her she would have loved to have been the one to stick it to him. She smiled as the key turned in the lock and Aaron opened the door. "Morning," she said as she brushed passed him, making sure that he got a good view of her tits as she went by. No man could resist them.

Shell strolled onto the wing as if she'd never left, "You lot are still serving the same crap for breakfast as the day I left." Julie J dropped her serving spoon, eggs and all and took a shaky step back from the serving counter. "Now, now girls, no need for a mess." "Jesus, look what the cat dragged in Ju, are my eyes deceiving me or is that Michelle Dockley standing in front of us?" Julie S said in a small voice. "In the flesh girls. Hear, what in the bleedin' hell are you two still doing in here anyway? You lot should have been out ages ago." Shell said, hands on hips. "Yeah well, just can't seem to shake the place can we Ju. Like bubble gum under your shoe," Said Julie S. "yeah, like bubble gum," said Julie J.

Pat and Alex had been watching the scene play itself out from the front of the line. Pat had been watching the new girl like a hawk. She'd heard of Michelle Dockley from a few of the older cons and screws. Shell had aged well; she was reasonably trim and being in doors for most of her adult life had done wonders for her skin. At thirty eight she could still have passed for ten years younger. Pat decided that now was the time to sus out the situation. "Well don't be rude Julies, introduce us to your friend," she said. "Where are our manners Ju," said Julie S, "Pat, this is Michelle Dockley. Used to be a lifer here on the wing back before she was sent off to the nut… Um, I mean, transferred to another facility." "Yeah, another facility," Chimed Julie J nodding vigorously.

"Pat Kerrigan," she said as she stretched out her hand toward Shell. Shell didn't move an inch as she looked at Pat's outstretched hand. She knew that this was the wing's current top dog in front of her and decided quickly that she needed a little time to find her weak points before making a move. Just as she was about to drop her hand Shell took it. "Nice to meet you Pat," she said with the sweetest little fake smile you've ever seen. Pat didn't buy it for a minute. "This is a mate of mine, Alex Montgomery," she gestured to Alex who nodded in reply, "Why don't you join us for breakfast Shell, and then we can all get to know each other a bit."

Dominic stood behind the gates with Aaron watching the scene unfold. "Well, that went better than I expected," Aaron said as he watched Shell take a seat with Pat and Alex. Dominic turned to look him in the eye, "You don't know her Aaron, that woman is poisonous. If I had any choice in the matter she would have gone anywhere but here, she has too much history here for anyone's good." He looked at the group of woman at the breakfast table again, "Pat can take care of herself, I have no doubt about that, but I'd watch Alex around Shell if I were you, She'll try to win her over, and if she can't she may be in some real danger. Cause if I know Shell she's always got an agenda and my best guess right now is that she's looking to knock Pat off the top spot." Dom turned to leave, "And watch yourself around her Aaron, I saw the way she looked at you this morning, just remind her you're not edible."

Aaron caught Alex's eye, and she smiled at him. She was looking a bit more full of life these days and he wondered if it had anything to do with her new Lawyer he'd seen visiting her earlier in the week. He smiled back at her, holding her gaze for just a moment longer than he normally would have. He liked to see her smile. The exchange did not go unnoticed by Shell, or Pat for that matter. Pat also caught the look of contempt on Shell's face as she watched them. This could be trouble.

She'd only been back for just over an hour and she already had a good idea about how things worked on the wing these days. After spending some time with the Julies today she was sure she would know everything about absolutely everybody in here that there was anything worth knowing about. The one thing the Julies were good at was gossip and that was unlikely to have changed. Silly cows never did know when to keep their gobs shut.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15 (Present day)

Dominic had just sat down behind his desk when the phone started to ring. He sighed as he reached out to answer it, "yes Penny," he said to his receptionist on the other end of the line. "I have a Miss Stewart on line one for you Mr Macalister," she said in her cheery sing song voice. "Thanks so much, I might be on with her for a while, could you hold all my other calls?" He said. "Certainly sir," she sang down the line.

"Helen," he said cheerfully, "I didn't expect you to get back to me so soon. I'm hoping you have some good news for me." "I had a look at the proposal you emailed me last night Dom, and I must say it's very impressive. I can see why the home office would give you the go ahead so quickly. It really is very well thought out." Helen said, "and I won't lie, I'm intrigued."

"That's great Helen; it was all your idea actually. I just hope I'm doing your vision justice," he said sincerely, "although I was hoping I'd be able to twist your arm a bit more and talk you into joining me to make this all a reality. Have you given working here with me any more thought? I don't mean to push you but I'd like to get the ball rolling as soon as possible."

"That's actually why I'm calling Dominic, what you said at dinner last night has been running through my mind all night. I'd like to be a part of it, but I'm going to need some reassurances and to know exactly what my part in all of this is going to be. Would it be ok if I came in when you have a moment so that we can discuss the specifics?" Helen asked tentatively.

She could hear paper rustling on the other end of the line, "let me just have a quick look at my diary but if memory serves I think I can fit you in at 15:30 today if that's ok with you?" Dominic said. "15:30 sounds good, I'll try not to be too late," Helen said. Dom chuckled, he could hear the smile in Helen's voice, and he'd always thought she was at her most beautiful when she had a smile on her face. "Brilliant," he said, "I'll come down and meet you at the gate."

Helen screeched to a halt in the prison's parking lot at 15:39. Not bad, she thought to herself as she stepped out of her silver Peugeot 308. She gave the car a little pat on the bonnet as he made her way toward the gates. In her book less than 10 minutes late constituted being on time. She stood for a moment and looked up at the imposing gates, it had been ten years since she had last walked through them and sworn that she would never be back but never the less, her she stood, about to walk through them again. For a moment she wondered if she was making the right choice. It would be far easier to just turn around and walk away. And even though a small part of her really wanted to do that, she knew that she would regret it. This was her second chance to see something she had sown the seed for all those years ago actually come to fruition.

The creek of the door swinging open jerked her out of her reverie. "Ah Helen, sorry, I hope you haven't been waiting long," Dominic said as he gestured her forward, "my last meeting ran over by a few minutes." Helen stepped through the door and allowed the guard to do a quick search of her hand bag as she sighed in. "No problem at all, and I'd actually just arrive," Helen confessed with a slightly sheepish look. "Right on time it seems," Dominic said with a grin.

Helen walked along next to Dominic as they wound their way through the narrow corridors toward Dom's office, they chatted good naturedly about nothing in particular. Penny greeted them at the door with tea, sandwiches and a huge smile. I though you and Miss Stewart would enjoy a spot of tea with your meeting," she said as Dominic held the door to his inner office open for Helen. "Thank you Penny," he said as she placed the selection in the middle of his desk and made a bee line for the door. 

Helen chuckled, "going all out I see," she said as she maneuvered herself into one of the chairs and grinned up at Dominic who was now blushing furiously. "Yeah well," he said pulling at his shirt sleeve, "if a good sandwich can help my cause I'm all for it". He finally looked up into Helen's eyes as she watched him from across the desk. She smiled her patented Helen Stewart smile at him, "don't worry, I'm all yours... As long as these are really good sandwiches."

Dom snorted as he poured them some tea. "Ok, let's get this show on the road then," he said as he handed Helen her cup. "I'm going to cut right to the chase Helen. I need someone to run this programme. Truth be told, Being the number one and all the shit that comes with it on a daily basis just eats up all my time and I can't see myself putting in the time that is needed to make this thing work, nor can I just hand it off to anyone. I've put too much work into it for that. This is pretty much where you come in; the way I see it this is your baby as much as it is mine. I want someone I can trust, and I can't think of a better person than you."

He cleared his throat and looked directly at Helen, "I get to pick my team, and I pick you. Which is probably the smartest thing I'll ever do because I know you are going to make me look good," he said, a small smile starting to tug at the corners of his mouth.

Helen had known she wanted this the moment she walked through the front door and the fact that Dominic seemed to be as fired up about it all as she was made it feel that much more right. She pretended to mull over it all for a while, she couldn't make it look too easy now could she. She nodded her head slowly before answering, "Alright, I think we could give this a go, but its going to have to sit on the back burner for a little while. We can sort out all the legalities so long and put the ground work in place but I can't take the reins on this thing until after this little tyke has come into the world," she said rubbing her belly lovingly.

Dominic nodded, "I understand," he said, "Realistically, it's still going to take us at least two months to get everything sorted. We need to source staff, I don't want just any old P.O out there on that wing, and find places for the inmates already on the wing that aren't lifers as well as draw up some criteria to decide on who gets into our little pet project. Much of this you can do from home for now, but I will need you to come in every now and then. Basically you'll hold a wing governor post, on paper at least, but it will be far more complex than that. Unfortunately the pay isn't really going to reflect that though, I'm sorry."

Helen grinned, "It's ok Dom, I still work in the prison service, and I know what the pay is like. Speaking of which, I'll need to run this past my current supervisor, I don't think they'll be too impressed with me if I just up and leave." Dominic cleared his throat and looked away sheepishly for the second time in the past half hour. "Don't be angry, but I sort of already spoke to your boss about it, when I first started drawing up the plans I gave Alfred Dunn a call and asked if he thought you would be interested and to find out if their office could spare you. He was reluctant at first but I seem to have won him over in the end. He knows that I made you the offer."

"Well I never Mr Macalister, I never took you to be a sneak." Helen said, making him blush. "I'm sorry Helen, It wasn't meant as an affront. I was really just trying to see if getting you on board was going to be possible. Frankly, I can't see myself going through this without you." He said to his shoes. When he looked up at her, Helen was smiling at him, "its ok Dom, I forgive you. Just don't do it again," she said with a touch of authority.

"Let's quickly chat about staff," Dominic said, changing the subject deftly. "I think we need a few senior officers with open minds and a wealth of experience as well as a good mix of junior officers. I want to start a new breed of officers, ones that are here to facilitate rehabilitation and learning above banging them up and throwing away the key." "I agree," Helen said, "Got any in mind?" Dominic hesitated for a moment, "I have asked Karen Betts to be part of the team, I know you two didn't part on the best of terms, but she is a good officer and I think she'd be a good fit." "OK," Helen said, "She is a good officer and very experienced. She up for it? And does she know she'll be working with me?" "We spoke at length about her role here if you took the position, and she is happy with it." Dominic said.

"I'd also like to add Mark Waddle to the list; He's good with the women and a fair man. There are also two youngsters I've had my eye on, Aaron Chambers, who is currently on G wing and Stephanie Daniels from D wing. I'd like you to meet them soon and see what you think." He said. "Similarly, I think we should try to get a full time psychologist on staff and look at getting more of our girls into an educational programme." Helen nodded, she seemed to have done a lot of that over the past hour, "So far we seem to be on the same page. I'd like to meet the staff you mentioned early next week, Monday if possible, so that I can get to know them all a bit, get a feel for their strengths and weaknesses. I don't really have much time, my Caesarean is booked for two weeks Friday so I need to try and get as much done before then." "No problem," Dominic said, "consider it done."

Helen's phone chirped, she looked at her watch as she dug it out of her hand bag, "bloody hell, we've been at it for an hour and a half. Time fly's when you're having fun. I've got to run Dominic, I promised to meet Nikki and Claire for an early dinner across town but I really did enjoy this. It's good to see a dream becoming reality eventually. Let me know about meeting the others ok? Oh, and thank Penny for the sandwiches, tell her they swung the vote." "Definitely," Dominic said, showing Helen out, "I'm so glad we are doing this Helen, It's been a while since I've had a friend inside these walls."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Helen still felt a bit strange being back at Larkhall. The sound of metal clicking against metal as she opened and closed the gates behind her brining back memories. Even though it had been ten years since she'd left this place having the key chain hanging down the outside of her thigh felt so natural. She made her way through the corridors and stopped briefly at the entrance to G wing to look over the familiar surroundings. The faces inside were ones she didn't recognize and the walls had changed colour but she got the feeling that nothing much had changed since she'd left, which made her a little sad.

A young officer caught her eye beyond the gates; he was talking to a girl with auburn hair. His back was toward her but she could tell he was good looking, maybe it was the way he carried himself with confidence or possibly the way the girl kept stealing glances at his face as he spoke. He was very animated as he spoke and even managed to get the girl to smile a few times, probably something she didn't do a lot of these days. Helen recognized the girl from the photo on the case file she'd seen on Nikki's desk.

As if feeling her eyes on him the officer turned and met Helen's gaze. He gave her a smile before turning back to the girl, placing his hand on her shoulder he said something that made her frown and look toward Helen as he began to make his way toward her. She was right, he was exceptionally good looking, his broad shoulders filled out his uniform perfectly and he had the most piercing blue eyes she'd ever seen.

He smiled and greeted her as he opened the gate, "hi, you must be Helen Stewart." He extended his hand toward her, "I'm Aaron Chambers."

She took his hand in hers and returned his smile, "It's nice to meet you Aaron, Dominic has been telling me a lot about you."

He laughed good naturedly, "all good things I hope?" A lopsided grin creeping onto his face.

Helen chuckled, "nothing but praise so far anyway."

They began walking together toward the office behind them where they were scheduled to have their first meeting. Even though she'd known Aaron for less than 5 minutes she already felt comfortable in his company. She could see why Dom had chosen him.

He picked up a stack of folded newspapers from one of the chairs and motioned for Helen to take a seat. "Could I interest you in a cup of tea, or perhaps some coffee?" He asked politely. "Although just between you and I, I would stay away from the coffee. I've heard it could put hair on your chest."

"A cup of tea would be lovely thanks," Helen replied. "Oh, and that hair on your chest story, not hearsay, just ask Sylvia Hollamby."

Aaron snorted and half choked on the tea he'd just taken a sip of as Dom stepped through the office door, followed closely by Karen Betts, Mark Waddle and a petite young officer who Helen assumed must be Stephanie Daniels.

"Ah, Aaron, I see you have already met Helen. Got you on your toes already I see. Tea is made for drinking mate, not breathing." Dom said as he looked at Helen questioningly.

She just shrugged her shoulder and smiled one of her mysterious patented Helen Stewart smiles.

Helen stood to greet Karen and Mark, who both seemed genuinely happy to see her again. As she had suspected the girl she didn't know was indeed Stephanie Daniels. The small Latina was friendly and polite and greeted her with a smile, "nice to meet you ma'am," she said.

"Please, call me Helen," she said as she shook Stephanie's hand.

"Right, seeing as the introductions are out of the way, let's get down to business shall we?" Dom said as he took the seat next to Helen and waited for everybody to do the same. He spoke animatedly for the next hour of his plans for G wing, laying out a timetable and discussing logistics of moving non lifers off the unit and lifers from other units onto the wing. He also covered staffing, and addressed the groups questions and listened to their suggestions and taking them into account accordingly.

By the time their meeting had concluded everyone seemed to be excited and ready to move forward. The only thing that still had to be done now was to address the G wing residents. They had been kept abreast about the changes the wing would be undergoing but there was still expected to be some resistance to the proposed plans. A few of the prisoners saw it as just one more way to cause trouble for management.

Dominic excused himself to take a call before beginning his address to the inmates, leaving Helen and Karen standing in the atrium between the office and the wing. The silence between them slightly strained. Neither of them knowing exactly where to start.

It was Karen who eventually broke the silence, "Helen, I feel I should apologize. I know it's all in the past now, but I just want you to know that you were right about Jim. I could kick myself for not seeing the truth in your words back then but I was just too close and I couldn't believe what you were saying about a man that I thought I loved. It's one of my biggest regrets and I just want you to know that I am truly sorry about everything that happened. I picked up the phone a hundred times after all the chaos with Jim but I was just too much of a coward to face you. I..." Karen cleared her throat and Helen could see the sheen of tears forming in her eyes

Helen placed her hand comfortingly on Karen's forearm, "look, Karen, like you said, it's a long time ago now and I'm just glad you came out the other side of it all in one piece. I know it couldn't have been easy for you either. So how about we just close the book on it and start from the beginning?"

Karen smiled down at the scot next to her as she placed her hand atop of Helen's that still lingered on her arm, "I'd like that."

"Good," Helen said with finality, "but just before we do there is just one last thing I need to say on the matter. Karen caught the mischievous glint in Helen's eye and cocked her head to the side expectantly waiting for Helen to say what she needed to say.

"I told you so..." Helen said as she began to giggle a little.

Karen stood it stunned silence for a few seconds before she began to laugh heartily with Helen.

Both women had been too caught up in their own conversation to notice the blonde inmate sauntering toward where the stood near the gates. Helen only spotted her when she heard her clear her throat. The smile immediately dropped from her face and she stiffened as her eyes met those of Michelle Dockley's through the bars. Karen turned when she saw Helen's change in demeanour to see what the problem was. On seeing Dockley stood across from them she mirrored Helen's reaction subconsciously.

"Well well, what do we have here, if it isn't Miss Betts and Miss Stewart! What a surprise, personally I thought you two would be tearing each other's eyes out after the whole Fenner fiasco, but I'm pleased to see you two have kissed and made up." She smirked at them as she delivered her little speech. "And I see congratulations are in order, you look just about ready to pop there Miss Stewart. Lovely ring there on your finger too," she said, eying Helen's wedding ring enviously.

Shell looked as if she were about to carry on taunting them when Aaron stepped in, "that's more than enough sass from you Miss Dockley. I'm sure you have places to be and people to see so off you go."

Shell leered at him through the bars, "well sir if you care to come and join me I'm sure I could show you a few things you'd like to see."

"That's enough Michelle!" Came Dominic's angry tone from behind us.

"Oh but Mr McAlister sir, I was just..." She stumbled over her words.

"You were just nothing Miss Dockley. You heard Mr Chambers, move along before I change my mind and send you down the block. Trust me this is not how you want to start your time here with us." He said with an air of finality as Shell turned in a huff.

Helen and Karen both turned to Dominic; Helen's face said it all. "I'm sorry you had to find out about her like that. I was planning on sitting down with you both to discuss her presence here." He said.

"How exactly did she end up back here anyway? I thought she was put into a mental institution?" Helen asked.

Dominic sighed, "Honestly, I don't even know exactly how it happened. I heard rumours about her transfer but I never expected them to even consider bringing her back here. The next thing I knew she was back on our doorstep. It seems she's caused enough trouble everywhere else that she's come full circle. Maybe they were hoping we'd forgotten about the grief she caused, who knows. I tried to organize to get her shipped out somewhere else but no one will touch her with a ten foot pole so here she will stay. Anyway, let's not dwell on the bad. We have had such a good day so far I'd rather we didn't let someone like Shell ruin it for us."

Dominic stepped forward and unlocked the gate in front of the group, stepping out onto the wing and holding the gate open for the others to follow. Helen hesitated for a second before taking a deep breath and stepping through behind Karen. She made sure to stay as close to the exit as possible just in case she needed to get out quickly. Normally it's wouldn't have bothered her as much but the sight of Michelle Dockley on the wing had her a bit jumpy and she still had to think for two for the next week, there was no way she was putting bean in any kind of danger. Instinctively she place her hand on her stomach and gently stroked the bulge under her shirt as she ran her eyes over the woman who had started to form small groups in front of them, waiting to hear what the number one had to say.

Dominic cleared his throat to get their attention, "good morning ladies, I trust you are all well today. I've asked to speak to you all today regarding the changes that are about to start happening on G wing. As you know, it has been decided that G wing will become HMP Larkhall's new home for all the inmates serving life terms as part of a new project started by the home office recently. Now I know that some of you weren't too thrilled about being moved around but unfortunately it is inevitable. We will do our best to get everyone to where they need to be with as little stress and fuss as possible. The move will take place next Monday, exactly a week from today. This gives you enough time to pack up all your belongings and be ready for the move. I have assigned an officer to each of the ladies who will be moving; they will be by to see you all later today and tomorrow to discuss the move with you. Right, that will be all for today. If you have any questions at all please feel free to ask your personal officer for assistance. Thank you for your patience."

Helen was rather surprised that there had been no more than a grumpy mumbling that circulated amongst the women. She'd been watching Dockley from the corner of her eye and held her breathe when she looked as if she was about to voice her opinion. Luckily a stern gaze from Dominic stopped her short, the threat of spending the week down the block had obviously worked. Although she doubted that Shell would just leave well enough alone.

All in all, the day had been a productive one and other than the shock of coming face to face with Dockley, Helen had a good feeling about her new endeavour. She absentmindedly played with her new set of keys as she made her way out to the car, her mind had drifted to Nikki and their dinner plans when she felt her phone buzz in her purse. She smiled as she saw the goofy picture of Nikki on the screen, "Hey you," she said into the phone, "I was just thinking about you. I'll be home in half an hour."


End file.
